McAuliffe Scores Twice for Shorewomen in Loss

COLLEGEVILLE, PA -- Nicole Hanby scored her third goal of the game with 1:44 remaining to give eleventh-ranked host Host Ursinus College a 5-4 Centennial Conference field hockey win over visiting Washington College tonight in Collegeville, PA. The Bears improved to 11-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play with the win, while the Shorewomen, whose eight-game win streak was snapped with the loss, fell to 9-5 and 5-2.

The Shorewomen registered the first eight shots of the game, scoring on the fifth when freshman attack Claire McAuliffe (Clarksville, MD/Glenelg Country School) scored off an assist from senior attack Emily Trees (Kensington, MD/Connelly School of the Holy Child) 8:19 into the game. Trees passed to McAuliffe from the right of the cage and McAuliffe placed the ball into the lower left corner.  Ursinus evened the score at 1-1 with 8:59 remaining in the first half when Corinne Freeman scored on a breakaway, dodging Washington sophomore goalkeeper Steph Harryman (Churchton, MD/Southern), who had come out of the cage to stop the play.

The Bears took their first lead of the game 2:29 later when Catherine Bitterly scored on a rebound. Washington responded 68 seconds later, evening the score when senior midfielder Gussie Reilly (Buck Hill Falls, PA/Mercersburg Academy) scored off a penalty corner sent in by Trees. Alyssa Thren had a chance to give Ursinus a lead before halftime, but her penalty stroke with 43 seconds off the clock went off the post and the two teams headed into the intermission tied at 2-2. Washington finished the first half with a 15-13 advantage in shots.

McAuliffe's second goal of the game gave Washington a 3-2 lead, as she gathered the ball and scored from the left of the goal with 25:24 left in the half. Ursinus evened the score with 22:32 remaining when Hanby scored off a penalty corner from Freeman. The Shorewomen regain the lead with 10:16 to play when junior attack Gabby Tarbert (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) fired in a ball that had bent sent from the Shorewomen's defensive end of the field and ricocheted off a defender's stick. Hanby again knotted the score with 5:57 to play, scoring off another penalty corner from from Freeman. Hanby's game-winner also came off a penalty-corner assist from Freeman.  

The Shorewomen finished the game with a 27-25 advantage in shots, while Ursinus had a 15-12 edge in penalty corners.  Jill Lukens made nine saves in the win for the Bears, while sophomore goalkeeper Steph Harryman (Churchton, MD/Southern) made five saves in the loss for the Shorewomen.

The Shorewomen return to action Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home game against fourth-ranked Franklin & Marshall.