COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - First the first time in the month of October the Dickinson field hockey team tasted defeat as a first quarter goal by Abby Marthins was all the offense the Red and White could muster as they fell 5-1 to the 25th-ranked Ursinus College Bears on Saturday afternoon at Snell Alumnae Field in Centennial Conference action.

Ursinus came out with the offensive pressure as the home side recorded three shots within the opening four minutes forcing two stops out of goalie Taylor Schlein. Then, with 4:08 off the clock Kirsten Johnson tallied unassisted before Megan McClure collected a rebound off a shot from Nicole Uebele and got the ball to Marthins who slid an offering past Adriana Palladinetti to tie the game. The Bears would record three more shots in the frame, but did not test Schlein. 

A green card on Amanda Groeling just 51-seconds into the second left Dickinson a player-up for two minutes. During that time the Red and White earned two corners leading to attempts from Sammi Moonay and Morgan Yandow-Harding, however, both chances were stopped by Palladinetti. In the 24th-minute the home side took a 2-1 advantage on a tally for Mary Lauren Franz. Ursinus would add one more shot later in the period, fortunately Schlein was there to knock it away sending the game to halftime at just 2-1. 

In the third, the Devils recorded the first chance of the frame when Ella Krenzer knocked one wide of the target two minutes in. Ursinus then went on to tally the final three shots of the quarter with Schlein denying Marie Brainard twice and Ellie Bruggeman once to keep the deficit at one with 15-minutes to go.

The Bears needed just two minutes to make it 3-1 as Schlein turned away Brainard, but could not get to the follow-up chance for Franz who put the ball in the cage. After, Uebele missed over the cage the home side recorded four more shots tasking Schlein with making three morre saves, before Groeling extended the margin to 4-1 with just under ten minutes left. Sophia Pereira and Marthins each added a shot in the 52nd and 53rd minutes respectively, unfortunately none of them bothered Palladinetti. That set the stage for the home side to bag their fifth of the day when Brainard cashed in a rebound off a Schlein stop of Franz. In the final minute Dickinson was still fighting as a corner played in by Natalie Slusser led to chances for Maggie Carson and Abby Hill, but Palladinetti was there to make the saves and end the game.

Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Marthins (1)
Shots - Marthins and Uebele (2)
Saves - Schlein (12)

Bear Leaders
Goals - Franz (2)
Shots - Brainard and Franz (6)
Saves - Palladinetti (5)

Postseason Outlook
Dickinson currently occupies the fourth seed in the Centennial Conference playoff picture with a conference mark of 5-3 with two games left. However, should the Red and Whitte now finish in a tie with Ursinus (5-4) the Bears would take the tiebreak. The Devils do hold the tiebreak over Bryn Mawr who is in the final spot right now at 4-4.

Next on the Pitch
Dickinson (7-7, 5-3 Centennial) will travel down to Baltimore on Wednesday evening for a conference clash against the third-ranked Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University. First hit is scheduled for 5pm at Homewood Field. Read Full Article