SALISBURY, Md. – For two years, Ursinus saw their season end at the hands of Messiah in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey tournament.

The third time proved to be the charm as the Bears (18-3) scored three times in the final 7:29 to defeat the Falcons (14-4) 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Salisbury University in the NCAA Second Round.

The Bears will advance to play host Salisbury at 1 p.m. Sunday in the national quarterfinals with a trip to Dudley, Mass., on the line.

Despite being outshot 25-12 and massively out cornered 14-5, Ursinus came back from a deficit for the second time in the tournament.

Messiah got on the board first following a scoreless first half as Juliana Hershey scored on a pass from Kourtney Ehly at 50:16. Ursinus got on the board following a penalty corner via Corinne Freeman at 62:11, when Nicole Hanby took two shots. The first was blocked, but, her second attempt at 62:31 proved true as the Bears tied the score. 

The go-ahead goal came 2:27 later when senior Alyssa Thren scored on a shot from the right corner. Thren got the ball following a Freeman corner and off a rebound from two Hanby shots. 

Thren scored the third and final goal on a shot from the middle of the circle at 67:53.

Senior goalkeeper Jill Lukens made eight saves in the win as the Bears improved to 15-6 all-time in tournament games. Ursinus will be facing Salisbury for the first time since 2009 when the Bears lost to the Sea Gulls 2-0 in Salisbury.