COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Messiah field hockey team was unable to maintain a first half lead and picked up the loss against No. 18 Ursinus. Hailey Womer picked up a goal with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter to give the Falcons the 1-0 lead. They maintained the lead until halftime, but Ursinus picked up two goals in two minutes in the third quarter to tilt the game in favor of the Bears. The Falcons were unable to find an equalizer through the remainder of the game.

Messiah continues their road trip when they travel to Ewing, N.J. on Saturday, September 21 to take on The College of New Jersey. Action is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.

First Quarter
The attack started early for the Falcons when they earned a penalty corner only 17 seconds into the game. The corner resulted in a shot by Kelsey Heltzel that was blocked. Liz Ong was able to fire a shot off the deflection but it was saved by the Bears goalie. Aubrey Clark fired a second rebound shot that was also saved. After an exciting first minute for Messiah, play continued back-and-forth in the midfield for the next seven minutes. The Falcons picked up their second corner of the night that allowed Teagan Murrie to get a shot off that missed just wide. Ursinus found themselves with back-to-back corner opportunities in the eighth minute, but they were unable to convert either opportunity into a shot. With just under a minute to play in the first quarter, Aubrey Clark fired a shot that was saved by the Bears goalie. Carrie Bair was able to get a quick touch to Hailey Womer off the deflection and Womer was able to fire the ball past the goalie to give Messiah the 1-0 lead.

Second Quarter
Messiah was first to the offensive attack once again, only this time, it was five minutes into the quarter. Ellie Lefever looked to increase the Falcons lead with a shot but missed wide. Both teams remained relatively quiet on the offensive strike during the quarter. Messiah fired one more shot with just over a minute left, but missed wide, keeping the score at 1-0 heading into halftime.

Third Quarter
Coming out of the half, both teams played in the midfield for nearly five minutes. With just over 10 minutes to play, Ursinus was awarded a penalty stroke and was able to convert the opportunity for a goal to bring the score to 1-1. The momentum swung in the Bears favor and two minutes later, they were able to find the back of the cage to take the lead, 2-1. Ursinus looked to add a third goal with four minutes remaining in the quarter, but Eva Hancock was able to make the save for the Falcons. Messiah was unable to convert on a penalty corner late in the quarter and the score remained 2-1 with one quarter of play remaining.

Fourth Quarter
Messiah was looking for an equalizer in the fourth quarter and their first opportunity came five minutes in. A penalty corner set up a shot for Carrie Bair but she missed just wide. Mallory Kline launched a shot with three minutes to play but the Bears goalie was able to make the save. The Falcons rattled off two more shots to end their attacking efforts on the night.

Stats
Hailey Womer lead the Falcons with a goal and Carrie Bair added an assist. Messiah out-shot Ursinus 12-4 placing six on frame to Ursinus' three. The Falcons took four penalty corners to the Bears' two. Eva Hancock picked up one save in goal.

Up Next
Messiah continues their road trip when they travel to Ewing, N.J. on Saturday, September 21 to take on The College of New Jersey. Action is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.