COLLEGEVILLE, PA. - The Ursinus College women's lacrosse team used four unanswered goals over the final 3:47 for a come from behind victory over Susquehanna University, 16-14 on Wednesday afternoon from Patterson Field.
With the win, the Bears improved to 4-3 overall and will begin conference play on Saturday. Meanwhile, the River Hawks of the Landmark Conference fell to 7-3.
Ursinus won the opening draw control and just 25 seconds into the contest, first-year Maeve Leonzi found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Susquehanna answered with a goal from Heather Riefenhauser at the 11:51 mark to knot the score at one a piece. The Bears regained the lead after Grace Lynch connected on a shot in front of the net.
Over the next six minutes, the River Hawks went on a 3-1 run and led 4-3 before Leonzi tied the game at four a piece with 54 seconds remaining in the first. In the second, after a turnover from Susquehanna, Lynch broke away on a fast break and a bounce shot snuck past the River Hawks goalkeeper. Susquehanna answered with a 3-0 run over the next seven minutes and led 7-5 with just under five minutes to play in the half. Lynch would score her third goal of the game at the 3:10 mark, after a free position attempt, but another goal from Riefenhauser gave the River Hawks an 8-6 lead heading into halftime.
Both defenses stepped up in the third quarter, as Bears junior goalkeeper Alexa Machado earned two early saves in the period and Leonzi cut the deficit to just one at the 9:33 mark. Leading 8-7, Susquehanna's Caroline Chase found the back of the net at the 7:23 mark to increase their lead to two. On the following possession, Rachel Doubet found Lynch in front of the net to make the score 9-8. Susquehanna answered on a women-up opportunity with just 50 seconds left in the period and held a 10-8 edge heading into the fourth.
Susquehanna won the opening draw control but after a save from Machado, Julie Cherneskie found Julia McCann on a backdoor cut as she scored her first of the game. After goals from each team, the River Hawks made the score 12-10 when Kelsey Homberg found the back of the net. Over the next three minutes each team scored two goals to make the score 14-12 with 5:29 remaining. Susquehanna won the following draw control, but a forced turnover and a clean clear attempt from the Bears led to Leonzi scoring her fourth goal of the contest at the 3:47 mark.
The Bears tied the score at 14 a piece when Julia McCann's shot went under the stick of Emmy Regan. Just 51 seconds later, Gabrielle Liott found senior Reilly Morgan cutting to the net scoring her second goal of the game for a 15-14 lead with 1:57 to play. The Bears won the ensuing draw control and Grace Lynch connected for her fifth goal of the contest to give the Bears a 16-14 victory.
The Bears held a slight 30-29 advantage in shots and a 23-9 edge in ground balls. The Rivers Hawks successfully completed 15 of 17 clear attempts compared to the Bears being 18 of 23. Machado earned the win in net, after tallying 11 saves, while Regan suffered the loss for Susquehanna after saving 8 shots.
The Bears will return to action on Saturday as they host Centennial Conference foe Bryn Mawr for a 12pm start at Patterson Field.