Box Score MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 6 Franklin & Marshall field hockey team fell to No. 5 Ursinus on a heartbreaking 2-1 score on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Sweet 16 at Middleybury, Vt. The loss ends the Diplomats' tournament run and wraps up their season at 18-3, while the Bears (17-3) advance into tomorrow's Elite Eight contest against Middlebury at 1:00 p.m.
F&M concludes one of its most successful seasons in recent memory, earning its first tournament win since 2011 with a dominant 6-0 shutout of Regis (Mass.) on Wednesday in the opening round. The Diplomats only losses on the year came at the hand of the Bears, who pulled ahead in the 54th minute and never looked back.
Neither team could light the scoreboard until the 22nd minute of play when an Ursinus corner bounced off of F&M goalkeeper Allie Morey and was tapped in by the Bears' Annie Kopera for the 1-0 lead.
The Diplomats needed just five minutes to respond, When Megan Kelly sent a pass in front to Tamera Mills, who found the back of the cage to knot the contest. F&M came out firing after the break but was unable to find the back of the cage. In the 54th minute of action, The Bears' Devin Brakel dribbled in from the right side, went left, and fired a shot that made its way past Morey for the one-goal advantage.
F&M pulled its keeper late but was unable to generate much offensive as Ursinus held on for the narrow victory.
Morey (18-3) was dealt the loss, allowing a pair of scores and recording one stop on the day, while the Bear's Danielle DeSpirito (17-3) registered the win after picking up five saves.
The Diplomats dominated the shot count at 12-5, including an 8-1 margin in the second half. Corners also belonged in F&M's favor at 10-8, with a 5-2 advantage in the final frame.
Maria Guarisco paced the offense with five shots, while Mills followed with three and Kelly tallied a pair.
