COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College field hockey team suffered defeat at the hands of the host Ursinus College Bears on Wednesday evening at Snell Field, falling 4-0 despite outshooting the Bears seven to six in the second half of play and holding an eight to seven corner advantage in the second stanza. Haverford falls to 6-5 on the season (1-3 CC) while Ursinus, a team receiving votes in the latest NFHCA poll, is now 6-4 (4-1 CC).
The Fords were tested early as goalkeeper Danielle Rette made four saves in the first 5:09 as the Bears kept the pressure on in their attacking third. In the sixth minute, Ursinus tallied the opening goal as Gemma Dufoe took a pass from Erin Saybolt and was able to take advantage of a Fords turnover for a 1-0 lead. Rette withstood another flurry of shots from the Bears, making two saves following a penalty corner in the 13th minute before saving a Brooke Overly attempt in the 15th minute. Elena Veale recorded Haverford's opening salvo with a shot that sailed high in the 16th minute.
Rette made two more saves following a 28th minute penalty corner for Ursinus, but the Bears went back to work offensively, as a penalty corner attempt led to a shot from Overly that was rejected for a defensive save by Leela Krishnan. The rebound found the corner inputter Gabriela Howell, who was able to tap the ball past Rette for a 2-0 lead. Ursinus scored just 27 seconds later, as Overly blasted one from the top of the circle following the restart for a 3-0 halftime lead.
The Fords came out with a renewed momentum in the second half, as Stephanie Terrell tallied a shot on goal in the 38th minute and Mason McNulty saw her attempt saved in the 46th. Terrell attempted to get the Fords a goal in the 47th following back-to-back penalty corners, but her shot was blocked in the circle. After Roxy Vassighi rocketed a shot just wide of the goalmouth, Ursinus called for timeout to regroup against a resurgent Haverford attack that earned eight corners and fired seven shots in the second half of action.
The Bears added a goal in the 67th minute as Erin Mcllhenny took a pass from Brooke Overly and finished towards the right post for a 4-0 lead. Terrell fired a shot on goal in the waning seconds of action, but Ursinus goalkeeper Jules Singer preserved the shutout with her third save of the night. Rette finished with 11 saves in her 70 minutes of work. Overly had a game-high five shots on goal for the host Bears to lead all comers.
Haverford continues road action on Saturday, October 7 at Gettysburg. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. The Fords then will return home to the friendly confines of Swan Field for matchups with Washington College (Oct. 11) and McDaniel (Oct. 14).