COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Two goals in the first 2:21 of the contest gave Messiah a 2-0 lead as the second-ranked Falcons (2-0) handed third-ranked Ursinus (0-1) a 4-2 loss Friday night in the season opener for the Bears at a steamy Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field.
The Bears were able to battle back to tie the score just 1:43 into the second half, but, the Falcons scored in the 37th minute, then added one in the 47th minute to take the win.
For Ursinus, the Bears got goals from junior forward Alyssa Thren (Barto, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and one from senior midfielder Michelle Wimmer (Palm, Pa./Upper Perkiomen), who scored on a penalty stroke to tie the game at 2-all at 36:43.
Messiah got two goals from senior midfielder Amber Philpot-Good, while senior midfielder Julie Barton added in two assists.
The Falcons were aided greatly by four defensive saves, with two coming from sophomore defender Erica Cann.
Ursinus senior goalkeeper LauraLee Lightwood-Mater (Bethlehem, Pa./The George School) and messiah freshman goalkeeper Kayleigh Stewart each finished with ten saves.
Messiah took an early 1-0 lead just 1:31 into the game as Good scored on an assist from sophomore midfielder Kelly Martin, then went up 2-0 at 2:21 as sophomore defender Natalie Ziegler scored on an assist from Barton.
Ursinus got on the board at 28:58 as Thren scored on a reverse shot over the goalie to cut the halftime deficit to 2-1. Wimmer's penalty stroke at 36:43 tied the game, before Messiah got the eventual game-winning goal at 37:36 from Ziegler off of a penalty corner. The Falcons would take on one at 47:05 when freshman midfielder Brooke Sands scored on a corner from sophomore forward Emily Hersh.
Ursinus owned the advantage on both shots (23-19) and corners (18-12). This was the first meeting of the two teams since the 2009 NCAA Division III Semifinals.
The Bears face another nationally-ranked opponent next Wednesday, hosting Rowan at 7 p.m.