COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – For the seventh straight time, the Centennial Conference field hockey championship belongs to Ursinus as the third-ranked Bears (18-1) defeated Haverford (14-5) 6-3 on Sunday afternoon a chilly Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field.
With the win, Ursinus receives the Centennial's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The field is scheduled to be announced at 9 a.m. on Monday, with play beginning later in the week. The championship weekend is scheduled for November 20-21 at Christopher Newport University.
The Bears bolted out to a 5-0 lead in the second half, but, Haverford did not go quietly as the Fords pulled to within 5-2 at 47:24 but could not get any closer.
Ursinus was led by senior midfielder Michelle Wimmer (Palm, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) led the way with three goals, two of which came in the second half. Senior midfielder Megan Yoder (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) had two goals, while senior attack Jennifer Bayzick (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area) added in three assists.
Haverford got goals from junior attack Juliana Morgan-Trostle, sophomore attack Mary Hobbs and junior midfielder Roxanne Jaffe. Defensively, Haverford got 24 saves from senior goalkeeper Maggie Cronin, which set a Centennial Conference record for saves in a tournament game.
For Ursinus, senior goalkeeper LauraLee Lightwood-Mater (Bethlehem, Pa./George School) had eight saves.
Ursinus went out to a 1-0 lead 10:59 in as senior midfielder Bridget Resetco (West Chester, Pa./Downingtown West) scored off of a corner on an assist by Bayzick. The lead increased to 2-0 at 14:05 as Yoder scored on a rebound.
Wimmer's first goal came at 22:27 on a blast from the top of the circle, via a pass from Bayzick. Yoder scored her second goal of the game with just 3:06 left in the first half from the left.
Wimmer's second goal 1:08 into the second half (which came on a penalty stroke) gave Ursinus a 5-0 lead, before Haverford got on the board at 44:29 as Roxanne Jaffe scored on a penalty stroke of her own.
Haverford added a goal at 47:24 as Hobbs scored on a rebound to cut the Ursinus lead to 5-2. Wimmer's third and final goal, off a Bayzick assist) at 48:03 provided Ursinus with a 6-2 lead. The final goal of the game, coming at 52:40, was by Morgan-Trostle for the final score of 6-3.
Ursinus had a 36-20 advantage on shots during the game.
