Abby Baigelman, Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – No. 12 York (Pa.) College advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship for the first time in program history after escaping Clark Field with an 8-7 win over fifth-ranked Gettysburg College on Saturday.
York (15-5) tallied three of the final four goals of the contest, including Sarah Castle's game-winner with 2:23 left. Gettysburg (16-4) had an opportunity to tie the contest in the final seconds and appeared to do so as freshman Katie Landry's (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) putback hit the back of the net with six seconds left. However, the officials were unable to determine which stick to check following the post-goal celebration by the Bullets, thus negating the score.
The ball was awarded to the Spartans at midfield and they ran out the final seconds.
York advances to the quarterfinals where they will face No. 6 Middlebury College (15-3), which defeated conference-rival Hamilton College (12-6) 18-10. The quarterfinal will take place Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on Clark Field.
Junior Abby Baigelman (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck) led Gettysburg with four goals, while senior Mandy Buell (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) tallied a pair of scores.
Castle registered three goals and Melissa Meehling added a pair of goals for York.
The game was a slugfest from the start. Buell raced to the cage for the first goal 45 seconds into the game, but York fired back with back-to-back tallies by Lily Damalouji and Castle to take a 2-1 lead at 25:14.
Gettysburg, which defeated York 15-9 earlier this season, seemed poised to grab the upper-hand with a three-goal run. Baigelman posted two goals sandwiched around a goal by junior Maggie Connolly (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) to push the Bullets ahead 4-2 with 14:50 to go in the opening frame.
The Spartan defense held the hosts to just one more shot for the remainder of the opening half. Meehling came through with a pair of goals to tie the game, the last on a free-position shot with 2:18 before the break.
Gettysburg opened the final period in similar fashion to the first with Baigelman scoring in transition on a nice feed from defender Macauley Mikes (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) 1:20 into the frame. After Castle tied the game two minutes later, Buell picked up an unassisted tally 35 seconds after the draw to make it 6-5 at 25:15.
Mandy Buell '15 finished the season with 74 goals, including two against York on Saturday (Photo by David Sinclair).
On York's ensuing possession, sophomore goalie Shannon Keeler (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) made a save on a shot by Castle, but Katelyn Cattrano was there for the quick scoop and shot into the back of the net to tie the game.
The Bullets turned the ball over on their next two possessions and the Spartans capitalized with sophomore Jayme Verman finding the pay-dirt at 19:11.
The score remained 7-6 for nearly 15 minutes as the teams traded blows. Keeler picked up three saves to keep York off the board. After the Keeler's final stop, the hosts marched up the field and Baigelman drew a foul inside the arc. The junior's free-position shot was true and tied the game with 4:31 on the clock.
Despite causing a turnover on York's next possession, Gettysburg was unable to clear the ball up the field and Castle came away with the eventual game-winning goal off a feed by Allison Kolacy.
Connolly helped the Bullets regain the ball with a caused turnover with just one minute to play. York's defense held firm, denying a clear look at the goal until Landry bulled her way in front of the crease. Her first shot was stopped by goalie Rachel Donovan, but the first-year scooped the rebound and heaved it back into the net with six seconds to go.
Players are required to immediately drop their stick following a goal for inspection by the officials, but in the ensuing melee several sticks were dropped and the officials were unable to completely determine which one accounted for the winning goal.
York out-shot Gettysburg 23-15 and owned an 11-6 advantage off the draw. The Bullets committed just nine turnovers with the Spartans coming up with 11 turnovers.
Keeler posted six saves and two ground balls for the Bullets. Junior Christina Wright (Kingsville, Md./Fallston) tallied a pair of caused turnovers and a ground ball.
Buell and Kenny each closed out impressive careers at Gettysburg. Buell's two goals gave her 74 for the season, marking the fourth-highest total in program history. Her 95 points this spring also tied the seventh-best mark. She finished her career 12th at Gettysburg with 208 points and 10th with 159 goals.
Kenny, who posted an assist on Saturday, ended her career with 235 points and 285 draw controls, which rank eighth and first, respectively, at Gettysburg.
Saturday's second contest lasted over four hours due to a series of weather delays. Morgan Fletcher tossed in the first goal for Hamilton 13 seconds into the game, but it was all Middlebury after that. The Panthers ran off the next eight goals, including three by Mary O'Connell, to take a commanding 8-1 advantage with 18:50 to go in the first period.
The Continentals tallied the next three goals before another score by O'Connell. Shortly after O'Connell's goal, the game was halted with thunderstorms approaching. After an hour pause, Fletcher scored the final goal of the first half to put the score at 9-5.
As the halftime horn sounded, thunderstorms swept through the area with a torrential downpour soaking the field. The game eventually resumed play at 6 o'clock and Middlebury quickly seized command, netting eight of the first 10 goals to take a 17-7 lead with 10:05 remaining.
O'Connell finished with four goals for Middlebury, while Katie Ritter added three goals and three assists. Bridget Instrum also added three goals and an assist. Kate Mandigo made five saves.
Fletcher finished with three goals and Caroline McCarthy posted three goals for Hamilton. Hannah Rubin posted five saves in goal.