GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) capped a six-point day with the game-winning goal with 15 seconds left as 11th-ranked Gettysburg College held on for a 14-13 victory over No. 16 Washington and Lee University Wednesday at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
 
Gettysburg (5-2) avenged a defeat to Washington and Lee (4-4) last season, but the Bullets needed some magic in the final minute to make it happen. Following a turnover by the Generals, Gettysburg called timeout with 53 seconds to go and set up for the game-winning play. The offense passed the ball around for about 30 seconds before McCormick dodged around two defenders on the right side and rocketed a shot past goalie Jack Taylor into the lower left corner for the winning goal.
 
Junior long-stick midfielder Eric Carr (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Academy of the New Church) won the ensuing face-off and Gettysburg appeared to have the game in hand as the seconds ticked away. However, the officials called an illegal procedure on the Bullets when senior Jackson Mumford's (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur) stick was knocked out of his hand with the ball still in it with nine-tenths of a second left. Hudson Hamill tried a midfield heave that was blocked away by the Gettysburg defense.
 
McCormick struck for three goals and three assists, while junior Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) produced his own personal highlight reel with five goals and one assist. Senior Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) followed up a four-goal performance against Widener University with a hat trick and one assist against Washington and Lee.
 
Mumford and senior Ryan Kelly (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) combined for five caused turnovers out of the defensive midfield, while sophomore Andrew Horn (Bronxville, N.Y./Avon Old Farms) and junior Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) each contributed three ground balls and a caused turnover. Freshman goalie Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) stretched his streak of double-figure save outings to four with a game-high 10.
 
Jack Ware led Washington and Lee with five goals. A.J. Witherell and Garrett Mize each scored two goals, while Hudson Hamill posted a goal and four assists. Jed Londrey scooped up nine ground balls and Taylor finished with five saves.
 
The Generals came out firing as Witherell scored the first goal on the first shot 36 seconds into the game. Gettysburg locked the visitors down over the next 12 minutes with Mumford picking up a pair of caused turnovers and MacMillan stopping two shots.
 
Kolen tied the game on a feed by McCormick, but his opening tally seemed average compared to his second. McCormick once again provided the lead pass to his classmate, who flipped it behind his back for a 2-1 lead with 3:23 left in the first quarter.
 
Following a goal by Mize to tie the game, Gray gave the Bullets the advantage heading into the second quarter with his first goal of the game.
 
Gettysburg committed six turnovers in the second period and the Generals took advantage with three goals to jump in front 5-3. McCormick sliced the deficit in half off a pass from sophomore Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) and a last-second save by MacMillan kept the score at 5-4 heading into the break.
 
Both attacks picked things up in the second half, combining for nine goals in each of the final two quarters. The teams traded blows to open the third and the score stood at 7-7 following a goal by Ben Mulholland with 8:31 left in the period.
 
Two consecutive face-off wins by junior Connor Hunt (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) led to goals by Gray and senior Andrew Garstka (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic) to make it 9-7. Ware cut into the deficit with a goal and Washington and Lee was poised to tie things up again, but McMillan came up with a save on a shot by Ware. The Bullets finished out the frame with McCormick finding sophomore Kadin Kightlinger (Purcellville, Va./Bishop O'Connell) with nine seconds left to make it 10-8.
 
After exchanging goals to start the fourth quarter, the Bullets started to pull away as McCormick and Kolen scored back-to-back goals to make it 13-9 with 6:50 to go.
 
The Generals refused to surrender, running off the next four tallies, including two man-up goals, to tie the game 13-13 on a score by Thomas Zusi with 1:21 remaining. Washington and Lee won the ensuing face-off, but Jack Hodgon's pass was off target and freshman Tate Kienzle (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) swooped in for the loose ball to set the stage for Gettysburg's winning goal.
 
Washington and Lee finished with advantages in shots (40-29), ground balls (41-30), and face-offs (19-11). Both teams committed 18 turnovers.
 
Gettysburg heads to Eastern University for a non-conference contest this Saturday at 1 p.m.