GALLOWAY, N.J. – An overpowering second half led the Ursinus Men's Lacrosse team to a 13-7 win over Stockton on Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action.
With the win, the Bears improved to 3-3 overall and snapped a two-game skid. Meanwhile, the Ospreys of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) fell to 2-2 overall.
Stockton won the opening faceoff and drew a Bears penalty just 16 seconds into the contest. The Ospreys quickly cashed in on the extra-man opportunity and went up 1-0 at the 14:24-mark of the first quarter. Junior Jake Ojert responded just under a minute for the Bears to knot the game at one after he broke free on the left side. Junior Tyler Neal continued the quick strike Ursinus offense as he put the Bears in front at 2-1 26 seconds later off a low shot to the right corner of the net. The Ospreys recorded back-to-back goals in the span of 32 seconds to go back in front at 3-2 with 9:27 left in the first quarter. Senior Stephen Schoenborn snapped the Ospreys run by netting his first collegiate goal for the Bears to tie the game at three with 7:39 left in the first quarter after he broke free from his defender on the right side. Neal got things going for the Bears with his second goal of the game at the 12:55-mark in the second quarter after senior Tommy Reinhart found him wide open on the left side of the crease. The Ospreys tied the game once more at the 9:41-mark following another successful man-up opportunity, but Schoenborn burned Stockton again just 57 seconds later to put Ursinus ahead, 5-4. The Ospreys closed the first half with some momentum as they tied the game at five with 16 seconds left after the Bears turned it over on a clear attempt.
Just like in the first half, the Ospreys struck first and took a 6-5 lead at the 12:24-mark of the third quarter. Ursinus tied the game back up at six after junior Erik Ojert took advantage of a man-up opportunity at the 11:15-mark. The goal set the stage for the Bears to take complete control of the contest in the second half. Reinhart put the Bears in front at 7-6 at the 7:58-mark after breaking around multiple defenders to get in front of the crease and junior Tyler Falco followed at the 4:13-mark to put the Bears up multiple goals for the first time in the contest. Erik Ojert kept the Bears run going 44 seconds later to make it a 9-6 game before the Ospreys ended the run 38 seconds later. Ursinus clamped down on Stockton for the rest of the contest as they held them scoreless for the final 17:51. As the Bears began to shut down the Ospreys on defense, senior Joshua Grahame broke free through the middle of the field and scored his first collegiate goal and put Ursinus up 10-7 at the 2:38-mark. Grahame then played a role in the Bears next goal just 23 seconds later as he found Erik Ojert after leading a clear off a faceoff win. Neal closed the game out for Ursinus by scoring the two final goals of the game in the fourth quarter.
Each team tallied 40 total shots in the contest, but the Bears held a 28-19 edge in shots on goal. Stockton held a 22-17 advantage in ground balls while Ursinus held a 13-9 advantage in faceoff wins. Sophomore goalkeeper Jonathan Singer earned the win after an outstanding showing in net as he made 15 saves during the full 60 minutes. Eric Lindskog suffered the loss for the Ospreys after making 12 saves in the full amount of action. Neal led the Bears offense with five points behind four goals and one assist while Erik Ojert recorded three goals. Schoenborn finished with three points on two goals along with one assist. Reegan Capozzoli led the Ospreys with five points behind scoring four goals and tallying one assist.
The Bears return to action on Saturday, March 19th as they will host No. 5 St. John Fisher in their final non-conference game at 12 p.m.