GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) scored three of his four goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter and No. 8 Gettysburg College seized control in the final 21 minutes on the way to an 18-9 victory over Widener University in non-conference men's lacrosse action at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium on Saturday.
 
Gettysburg (4-2) was tied 7-7 with Widener (0-4) following a man-up goal by Connor Heisman with 9:48 to play in the third quarter. The Bullets ended the game on a 11-2 run with Gray, junior Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), and sophomore Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) all tossing in multiple goals.
 
Gray and Kolen each finished with four goals and one assist, while senior Andrew Garstka (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic) recorded three goals and two assists. Fletcher finished with two goals and one assist and junior Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) scored twice and dished out three helpers. Junior Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) tallied a goal and two assists.
 
Sophomore Alex Ulrich (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's) dominated at the face-off "X," finishing 24-of-30 and tracking down 12 ground balls. His ground ball total was the best since Jimmy Gates '07 corralled 13 against Haverford College in the semifinals of the 2007 Centennial Conference Championship.
 
Junior defenseman Mitch Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) scored his fourth goal of the season and posted seven ground balls. Junior long-stick midfielder Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) added four ground balls and two caused turnovers. For the third consecutive game, freshman goalie Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) hit double-figure saves with 11 stops on Saturday.
 
Connor Heisman scored three goals and posted two assists for Widener. Brady Franks tossed in a pair of goals and Carter Landry made 11 saves for the Pride.
 
Gettysburg took the early lead on a goal by McCormick less than three minutes into the game and Harvey made it 2-0 on a leaping, one-handed toss with 4:24 left in the first quarter. Widener made it a game as Robbie Johnston scored just before the end of the opening period. The Pride defense locked down the Bullets for the start of the second quarter, allowing the attack to get into gear with three more goals. Heisman found Paz Gismondi to push Widener in front 4-2 with 5:18 left in the half.
 
The hosts responded quickly with the final five goals of the frame, including two each by Garstka and Kolen. Gray accounted for the final tally, snatching the ball off of a long scramble following the face-off and heaving it into the net with six seconds left. Gettysburg headed to the locker room in front 7-4.
 
Once again, the Pride opened a quarter in strong fashion, ripping off the first three goals of the third to tie the game with less than 10 minutes to play. Widener had a chance to take the lead after a turnover by the Bullets, but MacMillan came up with a big save on a shot by Matt Coppola. After a penalty on the Pride, Kolen scored a man-up goal to put Gettysburg back on top and McCormick added another tally to make it 9-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Gettysburg was clicking on all cylinders in the final 15 minutes, out-shooting Widener 18-8, picking up 15 ground balls, and losing the ball only twice on turnovers. Gray took advantage with three tallies to open the frame, including one on a feed from sophomore defenseman Andrew Horn (Bronxville, N.Y./Avon Old Farms).
 
The Pride tried to answer with two of the next three goals to pull the score to 13-9, but the hosts ended the game with a flourish, rattling off the final five goals in a span of less than two minutes. Five different Bullets scored, including a long-pole goal by Wykoff and freshman Tate Kienzle's (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) first collegiate tally.
 
Gettysburg out-shot Widener 45-34. Thanks to a dominating day by Ulrich, the Bullets finished 25-of-31 on face-offs and scooped 47 ground balls, marking the team's best ground ball total in 12 years.
 
Gettysburg takes on No. 14 Washington and Lee University at Shirk Field on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.