READING, Pa. – A pair of high-flying freshmen carried the day for the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team in Saturday's non-conference tilt at Albright, as rookies Courtney Cortese and Kaci McNeave combined for ten goals and an assist in a 16-13 shootout victory. Three other players scored twice for the Bears, who are off to their first 2-0 start since 2012.
Ursinus (2-0) found itself in a quick 3-0 hole, as Albright (1-1) got two tallies from Tori Myer to jump right on top of the visitors. But junior Amy Kohout got the Bears on the board just eight seconds later, jump-starting a three-goal run that also featured goals from McNeave and senior Devin Brakel that pulled the Red and Gold back to level ground.
After the Lions re-claimed the lead, Cortese registered her first collegiate goal scored on a free-position shot and added an unassisted marker to give the Bears a 5-4 lead. Two more Albright goals swung the pendulum back in the Lions' favor, but sophomore Taylor DeBernardi's man-up strike and another unassisted goal by Cortese sent the Bears into halftime with a 7-6 lead.
Kohout opened the second-half scoring with an unassisted marker, and Cortese fed DeBernardi in a man-up situation to lift Ursinus to a three-goal advantage. Albright cut it to two, but McNeave, Brakel, and Cortese all found the back of the net in a back-breaking three-goal spurt that delivered the Bears a 12-7 margin.
The Lions pulled back to within 13-11 with 10:56 remaining, but the Bears' freshmen phenoms made sure the hosts got no closer. McNeave converted a free-position opportunity, and Cortese tacked on two more tallies of her own to restore a five-goal advantage and render a late run by Albright moot.
Erin Farrell led the Lions' resistance with four goals, and Mariah Cullen (two goals, two assists), Tori Myer (two goals, one assist), Amanda Smith (two goals, one assist), and Danielle Carey (two goals) all picked up multi-goal games.
Cortese added three ground balls and three draw controls to her spectacular afternoon; her seven points marked the most by an Ursinus rookie since Jayme Verman posted eight in a 2014 triumph at Scranton. McNeave, who doubles as a guard on the women's basketball team, found the back of the net on all four of her shot attempts.
DeBernardi and Kohout finished with two goals an assist each, and Brakel collected two goals of her own for the Bears, who held a 31-27 edge in shots and collected 20 ground balls to Albright's 13. Freshman Bridget Sherry and sophomore Franny Liberatoscioli joined Cortese with three draw controls, with the latter causing two turnovers, a mark matched by senior Brynn Dietzel.
Sophomore goalkeeper Meaghan Corbin made ten saves in her first start of the season.
The Bears return to Collegeville for their home opener on Wednesday, March 2, when they welcome Rowan to Patterson Field.