COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey team made another victim of a highly-ranked opponent on Saturday afternoon, using its trademark suffocating defense and getting offensive production from unexpected sources to take down No. 6 William Smith, 3-1, in the home opener.

Senior back Aliki Torrence netted her second career goal and broke up several potential scoring opportunities for the Herons, and classmate Ann Kopera set up a pair of penalty corner scores for the 4^th-ranked Bears (2-0), who defeated No. 17 Rowan just two days prior. Senior co-captain Amber Steigerwalt tallied for the second time in as many games and junior Brooke Overly opened the scoring to help propel Ursinus to its sixth consecutive victory in home openers.

William Smith (1-1) was fresh off a 7-0 rout of Morrisville State in its 2016 lid lifter and brought back the entirety of an attack that ranked 10^th in Division III in goals per game and points per game a year ago, but the visitors could get little going against the Bears' staunch back line. Led by Torrence and sophomore Bridget Sherry, who recorded her first career point on Steigerwalt's go-ahead goal midway through the first half, Ursinus limited the high-powered Herons to just seven shots. Three of those came inside the final five minutes, one sailing wide and the other two gobbled up by Bears goalie Jules Singer, who stoned back-to-back efforts in the 69^th minute to snuff out a potential comeback for the visitors.

Singer finished with three saves in her second collegiate start.

Pressuring the Herons' back line throughout, the Bears produced nine penalty corners on the afternoon. The home side cashed in on its fourth attempt, when Overly blasted a shot from the left side of the circle and into the back of the cage to stake Ursinus to a 1-0 lead at 11:21.

William Smith readied a quick response, with Alessandra Patrizio equalizing just over five minutes later on a loose ball in front of the cage. But that was as good as it got for the Herons, and the Bears wasted little time regaining their short-lived advantage.

Sherry picked her way into the right side of the circle and sent a centering pass to Steigerwalt, who made a move before jamming a shot past William Smith goalie Biz Chirco at 19:50. The goal was the 43^rd of Steigerwalt's career, moving her into a tie for 13^th in program history.

The Bears went a player up on a yellow card at the 50-minute mark, but were unable to convert on the advantage until earning their ninth and final penalty corner of the day. Kopera played a pass to the top of the circle to Torrence, who stopped the ball and fired a hard, bouncing shot into the cage for her first goal of the season and only the second of her career. The helper was the second for Kopera, who notched her second career multi-assist performance.

Saturday's triumph continued a longstanding tradition of dominance on Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field for Ursinus, which has won 18 of its last 19 home games against non-conference foes. The Bears have taken the last four meetings with William Smith in Collegeville and are 138-17 on their home turf since 2002.

Fresh off two wins against nationally ranked programs, another tough test awaits Ursinus on Wednesday, September 7, when the Bears take to the road to battle 8^th-ranked Messiah.