Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Megan Murphy (Wilton, CT/Wilton) scored a game-high five goals to help ninth-ranked Gettysburg defeat Western Maryland 16-8 and clinch no worse than the No. 2 seed in next week’s Centennial Conference (CC) women’s lacrosse playoffs.

 Murphy, who leads the Bullets (11-3, 7-1 CC) with 38 goals this season, completed her hat trick in the first 30 minutes, then scored two more times to key a 7-2 second half that sealed Gettysburg’s fourth straight win over the Green Terror (8-4, 3-3 CC).

 Katie Lowe (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) netted her first collegiate hat trick and Amy Farrell (Ambler, PA/Upper Dublin) chipped in with two goals and one assist in the win.

 The Bullets locked up the CC’s second seed, but could only claim the top spot and the right to host the conference tournament with a win over Haverford on Saturday and Ursinus losses to Haverford tomorrow and Swarthmore on Saturday.

 Erin Mulhern scored four goals and added an assist for Western Maryland, which fell behind 6-0 before rallying to within 8-6 late in the first half. Freshman goalie Lindsay O’Steen made 14 saves, including six stops on free-position shots.

 Playing for the third time in four days, Gettysburg showed little fatigue while building a 6-0 lead in the opening 12 minutes.

 Becky Bucha (Waccabuc, NY/John Jay) converted a feed from Megan Murphy (Wilton, CT/Wilton) to open the scoring at 2:55, then set up Lowe 34 seconds later for a 2-0 lead.

 Murphy cashed in a free-position opportunity at 6:21 – the Bullets’ lone goal on nine free-position shots on the afternoon – to force a Western Maryland timeout. Minutes later, Farrell scored twice around a goal from Anna Haugen (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) to give Gettysburg a 6-0 advantage with 18:20 left in the half.

 After Kelley Mishler (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) scored at 20:14 to make it 8-2, the Green Terror’s high-powered attack got in gear, rattling off four straight goals to pull within two.

  Mulhern popped back-to-back goals in a span of 3:06 to make it 8-4 and Niki Lepson followed with her first goal of the season at 25:14. Twenty-two seconds later, Mulhern set up Kimberly Adams to pull within 8-6.

 Western Maryland had a golden opportunity to cut the deficit further, but Bullet netminder Liz Borucki (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) stopped Tracy Kessler on a free-position shot with 3:40 remaining in the half and Murphy scored off a set-up from Kathryn Grassel (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) with 1:26 left to restore the three-goal lead.

 After the break, Gettysburg tallied four of the first five goals to take command.

 Murphy scored off a feed from Julika Blankenship (Crumpton, MD/Kent County) and Casey Costello (Tiburon, CA/Santa Catalina School) finished a solo run to make it 10-6.

 Mulhern struck again at 37:26, but Lowe netted two goals in a span of 25 seconds to push the lead to 12-7. Mulhern added the Green Terror’s final goal at 43:41.

 Borucki finished with six saves on the afternoon. Murphy’s five-goal outing was one shy of her career high, set in the 2002 season opener at Mary Washington.

 Gettysburg returns to action on Saturday at Haverford. Game time is 1 p.m.
 

Score by Half	1	2	-	F
Western Maryland (8-4, 3-3 CC)	6	2	-	8
#9 Gettysburg (11-3, 7-1 CC)	9	7	-	16

Goals:

Western Maryland: Erin Mulhern 4, Kimberly Adams, Kim Lowry, Niki Lepson.

Gettysburg: Megan Murphy 5, Katie Lowe 3, Amy Farrell 2, Kelley Mishler, Casey Costello, Anna Haugen, Becky Bucha, Kathy Delauney, Kathryn Grassel.

Assists:

Western Maryland: Mulhern.

Gettysburg: Julika Blankenship 2, Quinn Dougherty 2, Costello, Murphy, Bucha, Farrell, Grassel.

Shots: Western Maryland 20, Gettysburg 41.

Ground Balls: Western Maryland 26, Gettysburg 43.

Goalies: Western Maryland (Lindsay O’Steen – 60:00, 14 saves, 16 GA), Gettysburg (Liz Borucki – 60:00, 6 saves, 8 GA).

Draw Controls: Western Maryland 14, Gettysburg 12.

Caused Turnovers: Western Maryland 8, Gettysburg 16.

Turnovers: Western Maryland 29, Gettysburg 18.

Fouls: Western Maryland 17, Gettysburg 16.

Free Position: Western Maryland 0 of 3, Gettysburg 1 of 9.

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