Release courtesy of Gettysburg Athletic Communications
SALEM, Va. – The fourth-ranked Gettysburg women's lacrosse team took to the Kerr Stadium turf on Saturday afternoon in search of a trip to the National Championship game on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Orange and Blue they ran up against a stifling Middlebury University defense that held the Bullets to just one goal and two shots over the opening 30-minutes en route to an 18-5 win.
Middlebury took control right off the opening draw as Jane Earley and Grace Getman put the first two shots of the contest behind keeper Gill Cortese. There would be just other shot inside the opening five minutes when Earley fired wide of cage. The Orange and Blue were held shotless for the first 6:41 until Maddi Seibel worked loose in the area, but was turned away by Annie Enrietto. The Panthers took advantage of a player-up opportunity with Maggie Coughlin making it 3-0, before Getman attempted to push the margin to four however she was stopped by Cortese. Gettysburg tried to get on the board for the first time with 4:57 left as Katie Fullowan was awarded a free-position attempt, unfortunately her try was saved by Enrietto. The Panthers rode the momentum of that save to two more tallies for a 5-0 edge through 15-minutes.
Jordan Basso cracked the scoreboard for the Bullets with 2:39 off the clock in the second with a free-position goal. Middlebury would record the next three shots and score on two of them thanks to Niki Mormile and Hope Shue to stretch the advantage to 7-1. A yellow card given to Erin Nicholas with five minutes gone gave Gettysburg a chance to chip away at the deficit, but Emily Crane and Seibel were both shutdown by Enrietto. Shannon Twill took over between the pipes with 5:16 left in the period after a Bullets timeout and she was greeted with four quick shots with one slipping behind her for an 8-1 scoreline at the break.
The two sides traded early goals in the third with Fullowan setting up Gabi Connor for the Bullets, while Susan Rowley netted an unassisted tally to make it 9-2 with 12:06 remaining. A minute later Basso had another look at cage for the Orange and Blue, however once again Enrietto was up to the task. After the Panthers scored two more, Fullowan missed the target just barely, before finding Connor for her second of the contest cutting it to 11-3 at the 8:07 mark. Unfortunately, Middlebury tallied three more times, prior to Fullowan cashing in on a free-position attempt on the final shot of the period cutting it down to 14-4 after three.
Gettysburg once again struggled to mount an offensive attack in the fourth as the Orange and Blue were held without a shot over the first ten minutes of the frame, until Fullowan had a shot saved by Enrietto. However, by the point the Panthers had pushed the lead out to 17-4. Cecily Stabler tried to get on the board, but the keeper was strong once again. Basso capped off the scoring for the Bullets with an unassisted marker in the final minute to set the 18-5 final.
Today marked the end of an era at Gettysburg College as Head Coach Carol Cantele and assistant coach Barb Jordan took to the sidelines for the final time. From everyone at Gettysburg College we thank them for all their time, effort, and support. You will be missed!