WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey team received a stellar performance in goal from Jules Singer, but was unable to generate enough offense to counteract a dangerous West Chester squad as the host Golden Rams posted a 3-1 victory in the 38th Snell Cup game on Sunday afternoon.
Singer racked up a career-high 15 saves – more than double her previous best – and junior Brooke Overly recorded her eighth goal of the season for Ursinus (10-4), which lost its second straight in the annual showcase between two programs that have been competing since the 1920s. The Golden Rams now lead the Snell Cup series, 18-16-4.
West Chester (8-6), which was ranked No. 3 in the NFHCA Division II preseason poll, peppered Singer and the Bears' defense to the tune of a 32-5 advantage in shots and an 8-4 edge in corners, but the Ursinus keeper's impressive afternoon kept the hosts from running away with the non-conference showdown. Much like Thursday's 1-0 loss at 10th-ranked TCNJ, the Bears' defense was put to the test immediately. Singer had six saves in the first half, four of them coming within the first 3:40 of game time as she turned aside two efforts each by Rachel Toppi, the Golden Rams' leading scorer, and Dayle Paustian.
West Chester broke the ice on a breakaway finish by Marnie Kusakavitch at 11:41, and Kusakavitch set up Toppi for a redirected shot in front of the cage that got past Singer as the Purple and Gold opened up a 2-0 advantage in a span of three minutes.
Ursinus dodged further damage when Paustian rang the post at the 26:01 mark, and the visitors earned their second penalty corner of the first half with a minute left before intermission. It did not yield a shot, however, and the Bears went into the break trailing by a two-goal margin. West Chester held a 16-1 disparity in shots in the first frame; Ursinus' lone attempt was steered wide by Overly following a corner just past the 10-minute mark.
The Golden Rams continued to push at the outset of the second half, quickly forcing a career high-tying seventh save from Singer before blasting another shot off the post on a follow-up effort. West Chester's next shot found its mark, however, as Maya Gulliksen scored off a penalty corner to make it 3-0 at 39:55.
Overly got the Bears off the schneid on a breakaway down the left side about two minutes later, her eighth goal of the season.
The Bears were unable to mount any more threats, going without a shot for the final 28 minutes and change. Ursinus held the high-powered West Chester offense off the board over the last half-hour of game time, however, thanks to the extended brilliance of Singer and some help from her defensive mates. The sophomore collected eight more saves during that stretch and used a defensive save by classmate Mikayla Jordan, the first of Jordan's career, to prevent another Golden Ram goal.
Ursinus attempted three shots in the final 1:11, more than its total for the entire game up to that point, but two went wide and one by freshman Erin Saybolt was saved.
Singer's 15 saves were the most by an Ursinus goaltender since Jill Lukens had 16 against Rowan in 2011.
The Bears return to Centennial Conference competition on Wednesday, October 19, at Washington College before closing the regular season with three consecutive home games. Wednesday's game is set for 7:00 p.m.