GETTYSBURG, Pa. – On the strength of a stellar defensive showing, the top-seeded and third-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team downed fourth-seeded Haverford 7-5 in the Centennial Conference (CC) semifinals Wednesday afternoon at a sweltering Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
Senior Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) made nine saves in goal for the Bullets (16-1), who won their 10th game in a row while advancing to the CC championship game for the fourth-straight season. Gettysburg claimed the title in 2015 and 2016 before capturing runner-up honors last season.
The Bullets will host second-seeded and ninth-ranked Dickinson in the conference final on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Red Devils held on for a 17-16 victory over third-seeded and 13th-ranked Franklin & Marshall in the other semifinal Wednesday evening.
Gettysburg trailed just once in an extremely tight contest that featured three ties and three lead changes. The Bullets led 5-4 heading into the last five minutes, but received a big goal from sophomore Brian Kolen(Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) before classmate Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) iced it with an empty-netter with 37 seconds left.
Sophomore long-stick midfielder Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) added five ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Bullet defense while senior Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) won 12-of-16 face-offs. Freshman Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) scored two goals while Kolen notched one goal and two assists.
Dylan Slack made 13 saves for Haverford (7-8).
Gettysburg struck first, when Fletcher scored just 1:38 into the contest. However, the Fords responded with a pair of first-quarter tallies to assume a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.
The Bullets scored the only two goals in the second quarter, when junior Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) converted from point-blank range with 12:04 left before freshman Kadin Kightlinger(Purcellville, Va./Bishop O'Connell) ripped in his first collegiate goal with a blast from the left wing less than a minute later. Neither side scored over the rest of the period and Gettysburg led 3-2 at the half.
Haverford pulled even with 9:04 left in the third quarter, but Gettysburg went ahead to stay with a pair of tallies midway through the stanza. Fletcher scored from the doorstep with 6:49 on the clock before junior Will DeMartin (Summit, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) followed up 3:54 showing. However, Ben Frost answered just over a minute later with his second goal of the game, drawing the Fords to within 5-4 heading into the final stanza.
Kightlinger set up Gettysburg's next goal, finding Kolen on the left post to make it 6-4. After McCormick's tally, Haverford set the final score on a goal with 18 seconds left.
The Bullets move on to the Centennial Conference final for the 14th time in team history and will be aiming for their conference-leading 16th CC title. Gettysburg has claimed the conference crown in 10 of the 17 years since the league began using a tournament to decide a champion in 2001.
CARLISLE, Pa. - The #9-ranked Dickinson men's lacrosse team held off a late run by #13-ranked Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals of the 2018 Centennial Conference Championship. The Red Devils and the Diplomats played another epic match in what has become an epic rivalry with Dickinson coming out on top 17-16. The Red Devils turned in a total team effort with contributions from literally all over the field.
The Diplomats came out strong, jumping out to a 4-0 start and led 6-2 at the end of the first quarter. Junior Jack O'Connell (Sands Point, N.Y./Westminster) capitalized on a man-up, scoring off an assist from Tyler Strods (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) and Dylan Maher (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) closed out the quarter with an unassisted tally.
The Red Devils chipped away at the lead to start the second quarter, scoring twice in a span of just six seconds. Nick Goles (Monkton, Md./Loyola Blakefield) scored and junior Bobby Hartwick (Brookeville, Md./Georgetown Prep) cleanly won the ensuing face-off and went right to goal, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
F&M scored twice before the Red Devils closed out the half with a 7-1 run to overtake the Diplomats and lead 11-9 at the break. Five different players scored during the run with Maher and O'Connell each netting a pair.
The Red Devils continued the run, outscoring F&M 5-1 in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 16-10. Maher finished an assist from O'Connell at the 11:42 mark of the fourth to make the score, 17-11.
The Diplomats looked to rally but would come up short, falling 17-16. Junior midfielder Charlie DeMuth (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) came up huge at the end, taking a rocket to the stomach to block a final shot attempt and secure the win.
Senior Andrew Jones (Odenton, Md./Arundel) came up with a stellar performance as well, coming off the bench, just 2:27 into the game to replace an injured Cole Pellicano (Arnold, Md./Broadneck). Jones did not miss a step, immediately coming up with a clutch save. He would finish with 15 on the night.
Nate Usich (Avon, Conn./Avon Old Farms) had another strong performance in the midfield, controlling eight ground balls while Hartwick picked up eight GBs and won 25-of-33 face-offs.
Maher finished with six goals and one assist to tie Don O'Neill for the most points in a season with a conference-leading 79. He also leads the Centennial Conference with a school-record 65 goals on the year.
O'Connell finished with three goals and two assists while Goles added a hat trick and Strods struck twice, handing out a pair of assists. Bobby Barroll (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School) had a solid performance in the midfield as well, winning four GBs.
The Red Devils improve to 14-3 on the season. They advance to Saturday's championship game at top-seed Gettysburg College. Opening face-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.