WESTMINSTER, Md. – Sophomore Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) and junior Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) picked up right where they left off 11 days ago, combining for 17 points as ninth-ranked Gettysburg College raced past McDaniel College 17-5 in a Centennial Conference men's lacrosse contest at Gill Stadium Wednesday night.
 
Despite an 11-day lay-off from competition, Gettysburg (12-3, 6-1 CC) showed no signs of rust at McDaniel (2-14, 0-8 CC), jumping out with the game's first six goals and dominating in shots (52-35), ground balls (36-19), and face-offs (18-7). The Bullets also committed just nine turnovers compared to 22 for the Green Terror.
 
Fletcher and Kolen combined for 17 points in the team's last victory over Haverford College and the dynamic duo was at it again Wednesday. Fletcher posted a pair of goals and six assists and recorded his 100th career point on a dime to Kolen in the third quarter. Kolen posted five goals and four assists to top his career-high for points by one.
 
Senior Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) and junior Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) each scored three goals, while senior Andrew Garstka (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic) tallied two goals and one assist. Garstka is now just two points shy of becoming the seventh current Gettysburg player with 100 in his career, a list that includes Fletcher, Kolen, Harvey, McCormick, and seniors Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) and Tommy Heller (Livingston, N.J./Livingston).
 
Freshman goalie Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) recorded his ninth double-figure save outing of the season with 11 stops. Junior defenseman Mitch Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) racked up five ground balls and a caused turnover and moved into a tie for fifth in program history for ground balls (219). Freshman Joe Persche (Summit, N.J./Summit) picked up 10 ground balls and went 17-for23 on face-offs.
 
Micah Brooks scored a pair of goals for McDaniel, while goalie Jakob Katzen logged 16 saves.
 
Gettysburg went on the attack from the outset, putting each of its first seven shots on cage. The Bullets converted on three of those opportunities with Garstka netting the first a minute in before Fletcher and Kolen hooked up for two more goals to make it 3-0 less than four minutes into the contest.
 
McDaniel turned the ball over on each of its first five possessions and Gettysburg continued to convert on the other end, running off three more goals to end the period leading 6-0.
 
The Bullets stifled the Green Terror attack in the second quarter, holding the hosts to just six shots while forcing six turnovers. McDaniel managed to tally two of the first three goals of the period to cut the margin to 7-2, but Gettysburg ran off the final four goals, including the last three by Kolen to surge into the break with an 11-2 lead.
 
Fletcher assisted on each of his team's first three goals of the third quarter and reached 100 career points on a feed to Kolen with 7:59 left in the period. The Bullets tracked down every loose ball in the fourth quarter, securing 9-of-11 ground balls in the frame, and ended the game on a 4-1 run. Freshman Griffin Gelinas (Bronxville, N.Y./Brunswick School) scored the final goal with 34 seconds left in the contest.
 
Gettysburg closes the regular season at home against Washington College (7-8, 4-3 CC) this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bullets enter the finale tied with Franklin & Marshall College (11-4, 6-1 CC) for the top spot in the standings. The Diplomats hold the tiebreaker over Gettysburg for the top seed with a victory earlier this season and close their campaign against Muhlenberg College (10-5, 3-4 CC) Saturday.