BRYN MAWR, Pa. – The Owls field hockey squad faced off against nationally ranked Ursinus earlier Wednesday afternoon in a major Centennial Conference showdown. Bryn Mawr showcased some impressive play, even controlling long stretches of the second half, but the Bears' potent offense helped the visitors ultimately walk away with a 4-2 win on the afternoon. Eleventh-ranked Ursinus scored three times in a nine-minute span in the second quarter to vault out to a 3-1 lead by halftime before clinching the victory with a late goal in the fourth. Bryn Mawr kept things close thanks to goals from Kate Ervin and Sara Rilatt, and Owls goaltender Maggie Titus put on a strong eight-save performance in the cage.

Both sides had chances early on in the first frame, but both Titus and Ursinus goalkeeper Jordan Ulsh made stops when called upon to keep the contest scoreless headed into the second period. The Owls were on the front foot early on in that second quarter, earning four penalty corners and taking three shots in the opening three minutes of the period. However, it was Ursinus who would strike first thanks to a penalty corner of their own. Erin McIlhenny slotted a ball in to Jamie Mayer, and her shot from the near wing went blasting past the pad of Titus and inside the near post to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Just 2:18 later, the Bears would double their advantage thanks to another penalty corner, with Devon Carroll tallying the goal for the visitors this time.

However, Bryn Mawr kept their spirits up and immediately got back into the game thanks to a goal of their own just 1:56 after that. On an Owls penalty corner, Eva Yacura got off a shot that Ulsh saved for the Bears. However, the rebound fell right to her feet, where Ryann McManus collected and sent a pass to the right post. Ervin was there waiting, and the first-year whirled and fired a shot into the center of the cage to trim Bryn Mawr's deficit in half. Unfortunately for the Owls, Ursinus would tack on another goal later on in the quarter, scoring on a deflection right in front of the cage to give the Bears a 3-1 lead headed into halftime.

Neither side was able to generate much offense in the third period, but Bryn Mawr kept Ursinus on their heels for much of the final quarter. The Owls earned a couple of penalty corners and scored on the second of those opportunities with just over five minutes left to play. Paige Schaefer inserted the ball to the top of the circle, where Sara Rilatt collected and fired a low hard shot to the left of Ulsh and inside the left post, trimming Bryn Mawr's deficit back to one. However, the Owls wouldn't even get a chance to get an extra field player on in search of the tying goal, as Ursinus scored a backbreaking fourth goal less than a minute later on another penalty corner, sealing the final score at 4-2.

Despite the tough result, the effort still brought out some history, as the two goals Bryn Mawr scored today are the most the Owls have put up against the Bears in modern history and the second-most all-time. Bryn Mawr got a 4-1 win over Ursinus back in 1934, but have never scored more than one goal against the Bears outside of that performance (in recorded history) until today.

The Owls will get right back into Centennial Conference action on Saturday when they travel to McDaniel. Game time against the Green Terror is set for 6:00 PM in Westminster, Maryland.