CARLISLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey team got the pick-me-up it needed following an overtime setback at Gettysburg last weekend, scoring back-to-back goals in a three-minute span in the first half to ignite a critical 3-1 victory at Dickinson on Saturday.
Three different players found the back of the cage for the 19th-ranked Bears (5-4, 3-1), who gained a leg up on the Red Devils (6-3, 2-2) in the CC standings and improved to 18-0 all-time in the series.
Senior Brooke Overly and sophomore Erin Saybolt scored in the run of play, while junior Bridget Sherry continued her penalty stroke mastery to headline an important road win, the Bears' first of the year.
The first half of the opening period passed with little action before the Bears dented the scoreboard on the second of back-to-back penalty corner opportunities. Junior Mikayla Jordan inserted to Overly, who blasted in a shot from the top of the circle with 16:55 remaining in the stanza for her fifth goal of the season.
Junior Bridget Sherry converted a penalty stroke, her third of the season and the seventh of her career, to double the visitors' margin just over three minutes later. The stroke gave the Bears a goal on consecutive shots against Freddie Bancroft, who came in leading the conference in both save percentage (.895) and goals-against average (0.74) and had allowed only six goals through the first eight games of the season.
The Red Devils cut into the deficit on a series of corners at the end of the half. Junior Jules Singer made a save on one chance, but Dickinson earned another – their ninth of the half – as time expired and took advantage when Marie Leverdiere ripped home a shot from the top of the circle on an insert from the right to make it a 2-1 game heading into intermission.
Ursinus righted the ship defensively coming out of the locker room, stifling the Red Devils' after-time momentum by allowing only two shots in the first 23 minutes of the second stanza – one blocked and the other stonewalled by Singer.
The Bears seized command for good with 11:36 to play. First-year Devon Carroll sent in a cross from the right side for sophomore Erin Saybolt, who sent in a shot from the top that found the back of the cage for her fourth goal of the season and a 3-1 lead. Ursinus controlled play until the final horn, earning several corners to keep Dickinson at arm's length.
Ursinus outshot the Red Devils by a 6-2 count in the second half to gain a slim 9-7 advantage for the afternoon, though the hosts held a 12-7 advantage in corners. Saybolt tied for the game high with four shots, with freshman Gabriela Howell adding two.
Bancroft netted three saves for Dickinson, while Singer made four to earn her fifth win of the season.
The field hockey team returns home to face Haverford in CC action on Wednesday, October 4.