SWARTHMORE, PA. - Trailing 8-4 at halftime, the Ursinus College women's lacrosse team outscored Swarthmore 8-3 in the second half for a comeback victory on the road.  

First-year Maeve Leonzi scored the game-winner on a women-up opportunity with 2:07 to play in the contest.  

Ursinus and Swarthmore both honored Ursinus alumna, Anita Deasey '75, a former Ursinus and Swarthmore assistant lacrosse coach who touched the lives as a mentor, teammate, and friend. The Garnet and Bears acknowledged Anita's living passion for high achievement, love of the competition, integrity for fair play, and enthusiasm for the game before the contest.  

With the win, the Bears improved to 7-4 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Garnet dropped to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in Centennial Conference action.  

The Garnet jumped on the board first, after winning the opening draw control Emma Holub found the back of the net for her 12th goal of the season at the 14:37 mark. Each defense caused two turnovers over the next five minutes, before Maeve Leonzi tied the game at one a piece at the 9:07 mark.  

Swarthmore's Elanor Miller quickly answered with a goal just over a minute later to make the score 2-1. After winning the ensuing draw control, sophomore Gabrielle Liott scored her first goal of the game after creating space in front of the net and sneaking a shot low past the Garnet goalkeeper.  

The Bears earned their first lead of the game at the 5:08 mark after Liott found Reilly Morgan cutting to the net for her 21st goal of the season. Swarthmore tied the game at three a piece after Helena Irvine connected on a pass from Holub with four minutes to play in the first. Each team traded goals over the final two minutes of the period to make the score 4-4 at the end of the first.  

The Garnet defense stepped up in the second period, shutting out the Bears as their offense controlled the pace of the quarter by scoring four unanswered goals. Swarthmore's Isabela Bloomquist scored two goals in the period as the Garnet held an 8-4 lead at halftime. Ursinus junior goaltender Alexa Machado was credited with five of her 12 saves in the second period. 

The Bears opened the second half with back-to-back goals to cut their deficit to just two. Grace Lynch scored on a free position shot and Liott found the back of the net for her second goal of the contest. Bloomquist answered for the Garnet with her third goal of the game at the nine-minute mark to make the score 9-6. The Bears answered with a 3-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game at nine a piece.  

Andrea Hook, Leonzi, and Julia McCann each scored for the Bears with McCann's goal coming with 6:17 remaining in the period. Swarthmore would regain the lead a minute later after Elizabeth Zack found the back of the net to make the score 10-9. The Bears were resilient all night and tied the game with 3:10 remaining in the period after Liott found Morgan in front of the net.  

Machado continued her success in net, as she earned a groundball and a save over the final two minutes to keep the score at ten a piece heading into the fourth. The Garnet struck again with a goal at the 12:44 mark after Irvine found Abigail Love.  

Each defense would step up as each team caused a turnover, before Liott tied the game up with 7:04 to play in the game.   

Machado and Swarthmore's goalkeeper Helen Stafford each saved a shot over the next five minutes to keep the score knotted at eleven a piece. After a Swarthmore timeout, Leonzi scooped a ground ball and spun around a Garnet defender before beating the goalkeeper on a low shot for the 12-11 lead.  

Ursinus won the ensuing draw control, but both teams caused two turnovers a piece, and the Garnet were unable to get another shot on the board as the Bears escaped with the 12-11 Centennial Conference win.  

Leonzi and Liott led the Bears offense, scoring three goals apiece. Liott totaled two assists and Machado collected three saves in the fourth period and earned the win in net for the Bears. 

Ursinus will return to action on Saturday as they travel to Dickinson College for a Centennial Conference matchup at 12pm.