WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team made several big runs in the second half of Saturday's Centennial Conference clash at McDaniel, but a turnover-filled first frame rendered the Bears' comebacks slightly inadequate in a 14-11 shootout.
Ursinus (2-8, 0-4) committed 14 turnovers in the first half, falling behind 3-0 and 5-1 before going to the locker room in an 8-2 hole. The Bears twice closed to within one, first on a run of five unanswered goals to open the second stanza and again on senior Franny Liberatoscioli's strike with 5:51 to play, but McDaniel (5-6, 1-3) had enough in the tank to fend off the visitors for its first league win.
Liberatoscioli four goals – three of them after halftime – and added an assist to pace Ursinus. Junior Emily DiGiorgio paired two goals with an assist and classmate Kaci McNeave reversed that line with two helpers and one marker, and senior Jules Krasutsky registered her first two goals of the season.
By the time DiGiorgio got the Bears on the board with 19:36 remaining in the first period, the Green Terror had already claimed a 3-0 advantage. McDaniel tacked on two more before Liberatoscioli finished a pass from classmate Taylor DeBernardi, and the hosts scored three in a span of 1:12 – two of them off the stick of Olivia Geiger – to storm into the break with a six-goal lead.
Whatever the Bears discussed at halftime, it worked. McNeave cut into the deficit with an unassisted tally less than two minutes into the second stanza, then facilitated a Liberatoscioli score just over two minutes later to get Ursinus within 8-4.
Then came an Ursinus flurry, as Liberatoscioli, sophomore Rachel Dunne, and Krasutsky all found the back of the net within 71 seconds of each other. Dunne's free-position goal preceded Krasutsky's by a mere seven ticks as the Bears pulled within 8-7 at the 20-minute mark of the frame.
Geiger righted the ship for McDaniel, which regained some separation with a three-goal spurt that made it 11-7 with 13:15 left.
Sophomore Haley O'Malley kicked off Ursinus' final stand with a goal from freshman Katherine Eckhoff, who secured her first collegiate point with the assist. Krasutsky added a second and Liberastoscioli's fourth of the day made it 11-10 at the 5:51 mark, but Geiger scored 47 seconds later and Annemarie Duerr made it 13-10 with 3:32 left. The teams traded a goal each until the final buzzer.
Geiger scored six goals and added one assist, with support from Duerr (three goals) and Megan Kotelchuck (two goals, two assists). Elizabeth Collyer finished with nine saves, while Lindsey Farrell (eight draws) and Geiger (seven) teamed up to help the Green Terror score an 18-9 advantage in the circle.
McNeave finished with six draws for the Bears, which committed only two turnovers after halftime. Liberatoscioli added three caused turnovers to her stat line, and junior Kaitlyn France posted 10 of her 14 saves in the first frame.
The women's lacrosse team returns home to face Franklin & Marshall on Saturday for its Senior Day game. Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m.