Release courtesy of Gettysburg Athletic Communications

Newport News, Va. - No. 8 Union College scored twice in the final 56 seconds to defeat No. 16 Gettysburg 14-13 in a thrilling NCAA men's lacrosse quarterfinal matchup at Christopher Newport University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Dutchmen (17-2) advance to Sunday's semifinal matchup, where they will take on No. 6 York (Pa.). The Spartans (20-2) defeated No. 3 Christopher Newport (18-2) in Saturday's other quarterfinal, 10-9.
 
Senior Spencer Knife (Venice, Calif./Winston Churchill) scored three goals and added one assist while junior George Raymond (Darien, Conn./Suffield Academy) also finished with four points on two goals and two assists to pace Gettysburg's attack on the day.
 
Senior Connor Hume (Elkridge, Md./Loyola Blakesfield) tallied three goals, while senior Griffin Gallagher (Ardmore, Pa./Shipley School) added two goals and one assist in the loss.
 
Senior Kieran Ward (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) and junior Kyle Howard (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) also had multi-point efforts with a goal and an assist apiece for the Bullets (14-8).
 
A flurry of early goals saw Gettysburg hold a 2-1 lead just 3:10 into Saturday's quarterfinal matchup.
 
Knife opened the scoring 1:23 into the contest, but Union equalized just over a minute later. However, the Bullets had a quick response of their own, as Gallagher countered with a goal 19 seconds later to give Gettysburg a 2-1 edge.
 
The Dutchmen knotted things back up at two-apiece at the 2:01 mark of the opening quarter, and the game remained tied 2-2 at the end of the period.
 
The Bullets started the second stanza with a bang, netting three goals in the first 1:57 to claim a 5-2 lead. 
 
Gallagher netted his second marker 31 seconds into the frame before Hume scored off a Raymond assist 44 seconds later.

Then, just 41 seconds later, freshman Frank Barbera (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) netted just his second goal of the season, with junior Michael Zima (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) assisting on the tally, to give Gettysburg a three-goal advantage.
 
However, Union counted with the next three goals to send the game into halftime, deadlocked at 5-5.
 
Hume's second goal of the game early in the third quarter put Gettysburg back in front, but back-to-back goals from the Dutchmen gave Union its first lead of the game at the 7:36 mark of the third quarter, 7-6. 
 
That advantage lasted just over a minute as Hume completed his hat-trick to tie the score before goals from Ward and Knife gave Gettysburg a 9-7 edge with 5:26 left in the period. 
 
However, the Dutchmen potted the final two markers of the frame to make it a 9-9 contest heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
 
Union went ahead 19 seconds into the fourth quarter before Raymond netted a pair of goals to give the Bullets an 11-10 edge at the 8:55 mark.
 
The two squads traded goals over the next few minutes, with Howard's unassisted goal at the 1:28 mark giving Gettysburg a 13-12 lead.
 
However, Kieran McGovern knotted the score up with 56 remaining before setting up Keaton McCann for the eventual game-winner with just nine seconds remaining in regulation. 
 
The Dutchmen were able to gain possession on the face-off following McCann's goal to run out the clock.
 
Senior goalkeeper Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) (14-8) made nine saves while picking up three groundballs and adding one caused turnovers in the net for Gettysburg.
 
Junior Declan Harrigan (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck) led Gettysburg defensively with five groundballs and three caused turnovers, while fellow junior Zack Kinsella (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) scooped up four groundballs in the loss.
 
Junior Jonathan Moshe (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl L Vandermeulen) won a team-high ten face-offs and scooped up three groundballs, while junior Dom Yorio (Summit, N.J./Summit) and freshman Thomas Ciccarone (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) had two caused turnovers and one groundball apiece.
 
McCann paced Union's attack with a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists, while McGovern added three goals and an assist.
 
Dan Donahue made ten saves to pick up the win for the Dutchmen.
 
For the game, Union held a 46-40 edge in shots, a 27-25 advantage in groundballs, and a 17-11 lead in face-off wins.
 
Gettysburg went 3-for-4 on extra-man opportunities and 17-for-21 on clears while committing 17 turnovers and two penalties for two minutes.
 
The Dutchmen were 1-for-2 on man-up chances and 16-for-23 on clears while committing 18 turnovers and serving four minutes on four penalties.
 
Both teams were credited with 23 shots on goal.
 
Saturday's heartbreaking defeat ended an outstanding season for Gettysburg in head coach Peter Toner's first season at the helm.  The Bullets recorded their 35th consecutive winning season and earned their 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in a season.  Gettysburg posted double-figure wins for the sixth-straight complete season, finished as the Centennial Conference runner-up, and won a pair of games in the NCAA Tournament. 
 
This spring, seven of the Bullets' eight losses came to nationally-ranked teams, including six to opponents ranked in the top-10 in the nation. Three of those setbacks were one-goal defeats, two of which came in Gettysburg's postseason losses, and two of which were to national semifinalists (Union and York).