COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey team almost pulled off a top-10 upset, but couldn't put away No. 4 TCNJ, falling 2-1.
The Lions (10-2) got on the board first with a goal 11 minutes into the match. Taylor Barrett took a corner for the Lions, firing a pass to Kayla Peterson, who settled the ball and sent a shot that snuck just inside the left post. Bears keeper Jules Singer looked to have gotten a piece of the shot, but not enough to deflect it away.
A pair of corners provided two scoring chances for the Bears (7-6) with 10 minutes to go in the first frame. Sophomore Gemma Dufoe let a shot go from close to the net, but the Lions keeper made the stop. Another corner came from the scrum in front of the net on the previous chance. This time, senior Brooke Overly fired a shot from the top of the circle that flew just outside the right post. Dufoe was right there looking to redirect the shot to the net, but couldn't get a stick on it.
Singer made a handful of saves to keep the deficit at just one. The junior was tested by a shot from a few feet away – which she blocked and then kicked away – when a Lions' attacked flew into the circle, running through a pair of defenders to manufacture her own shot. Singer made four saves in the first half as each of the Lions' five shots were on goal.
The Bears' best chance in the first half came with just more than a minute left. Sophomore Erin Saybolt fired a shot on goal past the keeper, but TCNJ defender Sidney Padilla made the defensive save – the only one of the game for either side.
Something must have clicked during halftime, as the Bears came out on fire, creating chance after chance, but couldn't find the finishing touch. That was until they lined up for a penalty corner a minute into the second half. The pass from freshman Gabriela Howell to Saybolt was right on the money. Saybolt's shot flew into the back of the net and the celebration began, but the referee blew the play dead and took the goal off the board on a Bears foul.
One minute later, in the same situation, Howell sent in a corner to Saybolt, who passed it to her right to freshman Devon Carroll. Carroll sent it right back to Saybolt, who fired home her fifth goal of the season, bringing the game to 1-1. The Bears would manufacture two more penalty corners over the two minutes following the goal. They won the corner battle against the Lions in convincing fashion, 11-4.
The Lions finally regrouped and their offensive surge began in the final 10 minutes of play. The ball seemed to live in the Ursinus defensive area for five to eight minutes, until TCNJ's Cayla Andrews carried the ball into the circle and whiffed on a shot from several feet out. Luckily for her – but unfortunately for the Bears – her teammate Tori Tiefenthaler was in the right place at the right time, sending a shot over the right shoulder of Singer and into the back of the net.
Singer made one save on a pair of shots on goal in the second half, finishing the contest with five saves.
Coach Janelle Benner called a timeout a minute later and decided to pull Singer out and put on an extra attacker. The Bears couldn't put together another goal, ultimately falling to the Lions in a hard-fought battle that either team could have come away with.
The Bears continue their tough final stretch of the season, as they travel to No. 12 Catholic on Tuesday. They'll return to Snell Field on October 21 for a Senior Day matchup with Johns Hopkins.