COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – As has become tradition, the Ursinus College women's soccer team went down to the wire with visiting Gettysburg in its Centennial Conference lid lifter this afternoon, tying the game with less than five minutes remaining on a header by junior Phoebe Shoap. Unfortunately, the Bullets had the last word when Lauren Miesemer rocketed a left-footed shot from 20 yards out into the right corner of the net with just 2:36 to play and gave the Orange and Blue a thrilling 2-1 victory in the Bears' first home game of the season.
Miesemer's strike capped a flurry of action over the final 15 minutes. Neither side applied much pressure to the other until Gettysburg freshman Charlotte Cenatiempo ended another scoreless stalemate between two teams who went to double overtime twice a year ago, including an Ursinus victory in penalty kicks in the CC first-round game. The rookie one-touched a cross from Nicole Crofton past Bears keeper Courtney Sullivan to give Gettysburg, which failed to score in 214 minutes of action against Ursinus last season, a 1-0 advantage in the 76th minute.
Ursinus (1-4-1, 0-1) struck back on a perfectly executed set piece, as senior defender Kelly Rosen placed an out-swinging corner into the center of the box. Shoap rose up and timed her leap perfectly, making solid contact on the header and steering it into the back of the net with just 4:16 to play. It was only the second goal surrendered by Gettysburg all season, and the assist marked the first of Rosen's career.
With the specter of overtime looming once more, Miesemer blasted in the game-winner, and the Bears were unable to muster another scoring opportunity as Gettysburg avenged a pair of marathon losses from 2015.
Samantha Esposito registered four shots and Miesemer had three for the Bullets, who outshot the Bears 14-5 for the afternoon. Kiera Loftus made just one save but earned the victory in net.
Sullivan finished with eight saves for Ursinus, moving past Ashley Potter (2004-07) and into fifth place on the all-time list.
Ursinus returns to Patterson Field for a non-conference date with Alvernia on Tuesday, September 20. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
