NEWPORT  NEWS, Va. – For close to 38 minutes, Ursinus held Messiah scoreless in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey semifinal Saturday afternoon. The Bears defensive unit held strong, but, Messiah scored its first goal 37:56 in as the Falcons advanced to the championship game for the second straight season with a 4-0 blanking of Ursinus.

Messiah will advance to play Bowdoin, a 5-0 winner over Skidmore in the day's other semifinal, on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Ursinus finished the season with a mark of 20-2, seeing their 20 game win streak come to a halt to the only team who defeated them during the regular season.

"We didn't get the job done today," said head coach Laura Moliken. "We played very well defensively in the first half as we were able to hold them off offensively."

While the Bears defensive unit kept Messiah off the board, the Falcons seemed to have the same gameplan as Ursinus did not get into the offensive circle until 23 minutes into the game. Messiah held an 11-2 advantage in shots in the first 35 minutes, expanding that margin to 24-8 in the game.

"The surface was a little bit slow," said Moliken afterwards. "We've only played on it a couple of times this year, and it slows the game down a bit."

A big part of that goose egg posted by the Ursinus defensive unit was the play of senior goalkeeper LauraLee Lightwood-Mater (Bethlehem, Pa./George School). In the long line of successful goalkeepers for the Bears, Lightwood-Mater continued that streak as she stopped ten shots in the first half on the way to 17 saves in the game.

She was tested early, as she made a save 4:17 on a shot by Messiah senior forward Kourtney Ehly. Just over 90 seconds later, Messiah's second shot on goal went past Lightwood-Mater, but, freshman defender Jenna Stover (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) made a defensive save.

After a save by Lightwood-Mater at 8:51, Messiah was awarded a penalty stroke. Messiah sophomore midfielder Leann Carroll took the stroke, which was saved by Lightwood-Mater. Following a penalty corner at 10:10, Messiah would fire off three shots, all saved by Lightwood-Mater.

Ursinus' first offensive chance came at 23:58. Following a penalty corner by senior forward Jennifer Bayzick (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazelton Area), the Bears got it back to Bayzick but her shot was saved by freshman midfielder Gina Kellett at 24:15. The Bears next offensive chance came at 30:40 as on a Bayzick corner,  a shot by senior midfielder Bridget Resetco (West Chester, Pa./Downingtown West).

While the Bears defensive unit held Messiah scoreless at intermission, the team took a hit as junior defender Nicole Hanby suffered an injury midway through the first half and did not return.

"Everyone goes through a few seconds of panic when a starter goes down," said Lightwood-Mater after the game.

After the Messiah goal, Ursinus had its best offensive chance to date in the game as the Beas had two straight corners. Both times, the shots by senior midfielder Michelle Wimmer (Palm, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) went wide. Following a shot by sophomore midfielder Juile PIlla (Mullica Hill, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) at 40:14, Ursinus was awarded a penalty stroke.

Wimmer took the stroke, but, her shot to the lower right of the goalkeeper was saved by Messiah freshman goalkeeper Kayleigh Stewart.

Stewart would come up big again at 44:47, as she saved a shot by junior forward Alyssa Thren (Barto, Pa./Upper Perkiomen). That would turn out to be the last shot on goal for Ursinus until less than four minutes left to go in the game.

During that span, Messiah upped their lead to 2-0 at 58:05 as junior forward Kilee Rosenberry scored on an assist from Barton. The Falcons went up 3-0 at 60:58 as sophomore midfielder Leann Carroll scored on a penalty stroke goal.

The final goal for Messiah came with just 26 seconds left in the game as Ehly scored on a shot from the lower left corner.

Ursinus saw its season come to a close in the NCAA semifinals for the third straight season, and second straight season at the hands of Messiah. While the game signaled the end of the playing careers of

Wimmer, Resetco, Bayzick, Lightwood-Mater, senior defender Lindsey Doutt (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg), senior midfielder Megan Yoder (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and senior

defender Taylor Weidensaul (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin), the game also marked the end of the coaching career at Ursinus for head coach Laura Moliken. Moliken, who finished with over 180 wins and has the best winning percentage in the history of the program, is going to step aside to focus on her duties as athletic director.

"Attitude was our biggest thing coming into today's game," said Doutt afterwards. "We play with our heart and never back down."