ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Freshman Gemma Dufoe made the most of her first shot for the Ursinus College field hockey team, providing the go-ahead marker early in the second half to help the Bears pull out a 2-1 non-conference victory at a tough Elizabethtown squad on Wednesday.
Senior Amber Steigerwalt scored her team-leading third goal of the season for 4th-ranked Ursinus (3-1), which needed to hang on late despite a 17-4 advantage in the shot department against the Blue Jays (1-3), who lost by the same tally to No. 5 Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg, which landed just outside the top 20 in this week's NFCA Division III rankings. The Bears absorbed a pair of green cards in the final seven minutes and change without allowing a shot, and the veteran back line conceded only one shot on goal the entire afternoon – Madison Kubik's game-tying strike late in the first half.
Ursinus peppered Hannah Mack (three saves) and Margo Donlin (six) for most of the day. The visitors broke through the Elizabethtown wall in the 21st minute, when Steigerwalt got in behind the defense and dribbled to the middle of the circle before chipping a shot over Mack's pad to break a scoreless deadlock. Ten minutes later, Kubin tapped in a cross from Olivia Beachley to send the two sides into halftime knotted at 1.
Dufoe opened her collegiate account just over five minutes into the second stanza. After Donlin saved a blast by the Bears' Brooke Overly, the rookie picked up a loose ball at the left post and beat the Blue Jays' keeper to the right for an early game-winner on the first shot attempt of her career.
Ursinus had seven shots and five penalty corners over the final half hour of game time, outshooting Elizabethtown 11-1 after intermission. But Donlin came up big for the Blue Jays, stoning back-to-back attempts by Overly in the 61st minute to keep the hosts in contention. Ursinus evaded a late penalty corner without permitting a shot, however, and managed to avenge a 2-1 loss on the same field two years ago.
Overly and senior Colleen Leahy each racked up five shots, combining to put seven on cage, while Dufoe and Steigerwalt each converted on their only attempt of the game. Sophomore Jules Singer picked up the victory despite not making a save.
With two more points to her ledger, Steigerwalt is now two away from joining the all-time top 10 at Ursinus.
The Bears continue a five-game road swing with their Centennial Conference opener at Gettysburg on Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 p.m.