Lancaster, Pa. – For the 11th time in the last 12 years, the Ursinus College field hockey team will play for the Centennial Conference championship. Senior Devin Brakel (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor Plainsboro North) and junior Amber Steigerwalt (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) each recorded a pair of goals and an assist as the second-seeded Bears roared past third-seeded Haverford, 6-1, to set up a familiar final with top-seeded Franklin & Marshall on Sunday. Fifth-ranked Ursinus will challenge the fourth-ranked Diplomats, a 1-0 winner over Dickinson in the other semifinal, in the conference title game for the third straight season.
Steigerwalt got in on the action shortly after intermission, scoring on a feed from senior Stephanie Cooper (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) just 2:38 into the second half. The Fords (11-7) pulled one back in the 55th minute, as freshman Mason McNulty deposited a reverse, but a game-clinching Bear barrage was imminent. Ursinus tacked on three insurance tallies in a span of 3:26, starting with a connection between Brackel and Steigerwalt at 58:22. Senior Danielle Strong (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) deposited a rebound just 1:16 later (59:38), and Brackel capped the scoring with help from Steigerwalt only 2:10 later.
Senior Danielle DeSpirito (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood Jr-Sr) made two saves for Ursinus, which dialed up a 23-4 advantage in shots and a 14-3 discrepancy in penalty corners, forcing Haverford's Lindsey Lopes into 11 saves.
The Bears will make their 11th appearance in the Centennial Conference final, having captured the crown in each of their previous 10 attempts. Ursinus defeated Franklin and Marshall in 2013 and 2014, and will go for the three-peat tomorrow back in Lancaster. The highly anticipated title game gets underway at 1:00 p.m.