Bill McAvoy, Gettysburg
Box Score
SALISBURY, Md. – The fifth-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team saw its outstanding 2016 season come to a close with a 14-6 loss to third-ranked Salisbury University in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III tournament Sunday evening at a rainy and cool Sea Gull Stadium.
Senior Jameson Smith (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) and freshman Tommy Heller (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) scored two goals apiece for the Bullets (17-3), who trailed just 5-3 midway through the second quarter before the Sea Gulls (22-1) pulled away with a 9-1 run that spanned into the fourth quarter. Senior goalie Jake Adoni (Fort Washington, Pa./Germantown Academy) finished with 11 saves.
The Bullets (17-3), making their second-straight national semifinal appearance, tied three other teams (2008, 2006, 2002) for the second-most victories in school history. The Orange and Blue also captured their second-straight Centennial Conference title and put together the second-longest winning streak (15 games) in program history. Along the way, the team overcame the loss of four starters due to injury or illness.
"I have never had a team in my whole career that has persevered like they have with all the injuries and all they've had to go through," said Gettysburg head coach Hank Janczyk, who has guided the Bullets to 10 NCAA semifinal appearances. "We have three or four guys who couldn't even practice at the end of the year but were playing games. So I'm very happy with the way we were able to win and get here."
It was the final game in the careers of seniors Adoni, Geoff Davis (Jefferson, Md./McDonogh School), Mike Distler (Lutherville, Md./Loyola Blakefield), Bill McAvoy (Villanova, Pa./Episcopal Academy), Smith, and Paul Werner (Westfield, N.J./Seton Hall Prep), who assembled a stellar 37-4 record over their final two seasons. Janczyk applauded their efforts. Smith finished ninth all-time at Gettysburg in goals (126) and 12th in points (184).
Salisbury, which scored on 5-of-8 extra-man opportunities, moves on to the Division III championship game to face No. 4 Tufts University, a 23-12 winner over No. 8 St. Lawrence University in the other semifinal.
Carson Kalama led Salisbury with five goals and one assist while Nathan Blondino netted four goals and one assist. James Burton added three goals and two assists for the Sea Gulls, who entered the game with the fifth-ranked offense in Division III and scored four more goals against than any team managed versus the Bullets this season. Colin Reymann made nine saves, and T.J. Logue was 16-for-17 on face-offs.
Salisbury struck for the first two goals, as Blondino and Kalama scored inside the opening four minutes. Smith put the Bullets on the scoreboard with 10:08 showing, taking a centering feed from Distler and bouncing home a shot from 20 yards out.
The Sea Gulls cashed in just over a minute later, when Burton scored a man-up goal to make it a 3-1 game with 8:58 left in the quarter. Salisbury outshot the Bullets 11-7 in the opening period, but Adoni kept it close for Gettysburg, making four saves as Salisbury carried a two-goal lead into the second quarter.
Smith took a dish from Werner and rifled home a shot from the left wing just 42 seconds into the second quarter to make it a one-goal game before Burton scored again for Salisbury with 10:12 showing. Jake Rotman then converted another man-up opportunity to give the hosts a 5-2 advantage with 8:49 on the clock.
Heller stemmed the Salisbury run when he scored a wraparound goal with 6:35 to go in the half. However, the Sea Gulls closed the stanza with the final two goals of the period. Logue scored in transition with 6:15 left before Kalama finished off yet another man-up goal with 2:26 showing, as the hosts took a 7-3 lead into the locker room.
Salisbury continued to pull away in the second half, receiving consecutive tallies from Blondino, Burton and Kalama to go up 10-3 midway through the period. Heller snapped the 5-0 run when he scored with 1:03 showing and the Bullets trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter.
Kalama and Blondino added two goals apiece over the first 12 minutes of the fourth quarter as the Sea Gull lead hit 14-4. Gettysburg set the final score on goals from junior Ivan Morris (Houston, Texas/Houston Christian) and Distler inside the final two minutes.