ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey team showed off its resiliency and got back to winning ways with a resounding 3-0 shutout at Muhlenberg on Thursday night.
With a few days off to stew over a double-overtime loss to Franklin & Marshall, the 12th-ranked Bears took out their frustrations with a dominant performance in which they racked up 26 shots and never allowed the Mules to threaten.
Ursinus (9-4, 5-2) continued to put its penalty corner prowess on full display, starting with the opening goal about midway through the first period. Laura Rothschild inserted the corner to Erin Saybolt, who fed off to Devon Carroll for a hard shot into the back of the cage.
The Bears continued to amp up the pressure and doubled their advantage with 8:58 remaining in the second as Gemma Dufoe potted her team-leading 12th goal of the year on an assist from Jamie Mayer. Rothschild nearly added a third before the half, but her shot clanged off the top of the crossbar.
Rothschild got herself on the scoresheet about five minutes into the third quarter, taking a feed from Saybolt and depositing a shot off the goalie's chest and into the cage.
Ursinus finished with a massive 26-5 advantage in shots and piled up 11 corner opportunities to the Mules' 2; the Bears were especially dominant in the second quarter, when they put up 13 shots and five corners. Muhlenberg put three of its five efforts on target, but Addie Frey was there to save each one and secure the Bears' sixth shutout of the year.
Saybolt notched two assists in a game for the second time in her career, also putting all four of her shot attempts on cage. Carroll led Ursinus with five shots, while Mayer and Rothschild matched Saybolt with four apiece.
Ursinus improved to 17-1 all-time against Muhlenberg and extended its winning streak over the Mules to five.
The Bears have the weekend off before completing their non-conference slate at Catholic next Wednesday.