GLASSBORO, N.J. – The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team got off to a fast start in its road opener against No. 20 Rowan but was unable to sustain the early inroads in a 17-7 defeat.
Sophomore Hanna Crowley scored two goals within the first three minutes, giving the Bears (0-2) a quick 2-0 advantage on the nationally ranked Profs, who were playing their first game of the season. Ursinus still led 3-2 on a goal by sophomore Grace Langen with 21:38 to play in the first half, but Rowan scored four unanswered goals and cruised from there.
Crowley and Langen drove the Bears' attack with two goals apiece, with Crowley adding an assist. Junior Haley O'Malley registered a goal and an assist with senior Courtney Cortese and freshman Jill Verrelle accounting for the other tallies.
Verrelle got the Bears on the board first in the second stanza, cutting the Rowan lead to 10-6 at the 28:37 mark on an unassisted marker. But the hosts scored the next six goals to bring on a running clock with 7:17 remaining before Langen stopped the run with 3:28 to play.
Senior Bridget Sherry had another active game in the midfield, racking up seven ground balls, four caused turnovers, and four draw controls. Senior Emily Blaszkow paced the Bears with seven draws and added two caused turnovers.
Ursinus was nearly even on the draw (14-12), but Rowan piled up a 40-19 advantage in shots to keep the Bears under siege throughout the afternoon. The Profs put 10 shots past senior goalie Kaitlyn France in the first half before classmate Abby Goldstein made her debut between the pipes in the second stanza, finishing with eight saves on 15 shots faced.
Jess Havers and Taylor Gretz paced the Profs with four goals apiece, and Gretz also collected seven ground balls, seven draw controls, and six caused turnovers in a big all-around effort.
The Bears return home to face No. 3 TCNJ on Tuesday, March 5.