CHESTERTOWN, Md. – After a pair of one-goal losses last week, getting on the right side of a narrow score line was the perfect remedy for the Ursinus College field hockey team.
The 12th-ranked Bears returned to their winning ways with a 2-1 Centennial Conference triumph at Washington College on Wednesday night, holding on late despite dominating the flow of the contest from the opening touch. It was the second one-goal victory of the year for Ursinus, which has fallen on the short end of six such affairs.
Gemma Dufoe and Emma Saybolt provided the goals for the Bears (10-6, 6-3), who clinched a playoff spot for the 17th consecutive season. Ursinus will battle Bryn Mawr on Saturday with the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye on the line.
Despite outshooting the Shorewomen (4-11, 2-7) by an 8-1 margin, Ursinus was unable to dent the scoreboard in the first period. Dufoe changed that midway through the second, stuffing home a rebound off a Saybolt shot that was saved by the Washington College keeper.
The Bears held a 20-2 advantage in shots through the first three quarters, and all of that pressure paid off again with 20 seconds remaining in the third as Saybolt blasted home from just inside the circle after a restart.
Ursinus was forced to sweat out the final quarter, however, as the Shorewomen scored with 11:27 to go on their lone on-target shot. The Bears did not permit another shot and left town with a critical victory in tow.
Saybolt fired off eight shots – six of them on target – to lead Ursinus, with Devon Carroll adding five and Dufoe placing all four of hers on frame. The Bears finished with a 23-3 surplus in shots and a 14-0 discrepancy in corners.
Ursinus wraps up the regular season Saturday at Bryn Mawr.