(Story thanks to SUNY-Cortland Sports Information)
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior Corinne Freeman (Freehold, NJ/St. John Vienney) scored with less than five minutes left in regulation to lead the third-ranked Ursinus field hockey team to a come-from-behind 2-1 win Sunday afternoon at the Stadium Complex White Field over 11th-ranked Cortland. Ursinus completed its three game road trip with a 3-0 mark, while Cortland fell to 1-3.
Senior Alyssa Thren (Barto, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) scored the second Ursinus goal with senior Nicole Hanby (Bear, Del./William Penn) collecting an assist and a defensive save. Senior goalie Jill Lukens (Furlong, PA/C.B. East) made eight saves.
Junior Danielle Groneman tallied Cortland's goal in the first half. Junior goalie Emily von Schondorf turned aside a career-best 12 shots.
Ursinus pressured Cortland early in the game, generating four shots that von Schondorf denied in a one-minute span less than five minutes into the contest. Shortly after the flurry, Groneman gave the Red Dragons the lead when she carried the ball into the left side of the arc and snuck a sharp-angled shot between Lukens and the right post.
Ten minutes later, Hanby kept it a one goal game when she cleared Cortland sophomore Holly Flanigan's shot off the goal line. Midway through the first half, the Bears again took control of the play, receiving four penalty corners in a three-minute span. Von Schondorf kept the Bears off the scoreboard with a kick save on Thren's blast.
Ursinus opened the second half with early pressure on Cortland, and the Bears eventually broke through. Thren tied the game eight minutes, 27 seconds into the half when she forced a turnover, carried the ball into the middle of the arc from the left side and deposited a shot inside the left post for her team-high sixth goal of the season.
Cortland threatened to regain the lead with 14 minutes remaining in regulation, but Lukens turned away back-to-back open shots by Groneman and junior Sara Woodward.
Freeman then scored the game winner with 4:38 left in the game. Hanby carried the ball into the arc and slipped a pass ahead to Freeman, who flipped a shot over von Schondorf through traffic right in front. With time winding down, the Bears were able to control possession and run the clock down to secure the win.