Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Freshmen Lauren Dougher and Bridget Bigley combined for seven goals as second-ranked College of New Jersey jumped to a 9-3 first-half lead and held on to defeat No. 5 Gettysburg 11-10 in non-conference women’s lacrosse action on Saturday.

 Dougher scored four times, including twice in a 1-minute, 21-second span of the second half, to keep the surging Bullets (10-1) at arms length down the stretch. Bigley chipped in with a hat trick for the Lions (7-0).

 The loss overshadowed an outstanding performance by Gettysburg senior Megan Murphy (Wilton, CT/Wilton), who scored a career-high eight goals while continuing to climb the program’s all-time goal-scoring list. Murphy, who became the first Bullet to tally eight goals in a game since Amy Stambaugh on Apr. 19, 2000, moved into fifth place with 145 career goals, surpassing former teammate Anna Haugen (140) and Amanda Corroon (144).

 Julika Blankenship (Crumpton, MD/Kent County) scored twice and added three assists for Gettysburg, which saw its 10-game winning streak – the second-longest in program history – come to an end.

 The game was a tale of two halves, with the Lions doing enough goal-scoring in the first 30 minutes to walk away with the victory.

 Two free-position goals by Jill Baldwin helped TCNJ jump to a 4-0 lead in the game’s opening 8:38.

 Blankenship put the Bullets on the scoreboard at 14:49, but Bigley answered with an unassisted marker just 19 seconds later to make it 5-1. Murphy converted a free-position at 16:28 to start her career day, but again the Lions needed little time to strike back. Twenty seconds after Murphy’s first score, Bigley tallied off the first of Katie Wagenblast’s three assists to restore the Lions’ four-goal lead.

 TCNJ pushed the lead to 9-3 on Dougher’s first two goals, the latter coming off an assist from Liz O’Connor with 6:15 left in the half. Blankenship set up Murphy to pull Gettysburg within 9-4 at the break.

 After getting outshot 18-8 in the opening half, the Bullets turned the tables in the second half to climb back into the game.
 Murphy converted a breakaway off a long pass from Lindsay Barton (Toms River, NJ/Toms River), then set up Blankenship in the first 1:35 of the second half to cut the deficit to 9-6. Barton’s assist marked the first point of her collegiate career.

 A Murphy free-position goal at 35:03 pulled the home team within 9-7 and Gettysburg fired off five more shots during a subsequent four-minute stretch, but Dougher answered twice in a span of 1:21 to push the lead back to 11-7 with 16:01 left.

 Undeterred, the Bullets regained momentum through the quick stick of Murphy. The senior netted her sixth goal off a feed from Blankenship at 45:47, then ripped a high, twisting shot past Lion goalie Jen Munday at 49:11 to make it 11-9. Murphy struck against 67 seconds later, this time picking up a loose ball in front of the goal-mouth and firing home her eighth goal of the day with 9:42 left.

 The Lions won the ensuing draw control and were able to run a significant amount of time off the clock on a pair of possessions.

Gettysburg goalie Liz Borucki (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) preserved the one-goal deficit with a free-position save on Tara Prindible with 6:24 left and the Bullets were able to get into their offense in the last four minutes, but an offensive foul turned the ball back over to TCNJ with 3:05 left.

 The teams traded turnovers on their next possessions before the Lions ran out the clock to seal the victory.

 Thanks to her eight-goal outburst, Murphy became the fifth player in program history with at least 80 points in a season (83) and the eighth Bullet to score at least 50 goals in a season (55). With six games remaining in the regular season, she needs 19 points to break the program record for points in a single season, held by Colleen Dunn (101 in 1995).

 Gettysburg returns to action on Tuesday at McDaniel. Game time is 4:15 p.m.
 

Score by Half	1	2	-	F
#2 College of New Jersey (7-0)	9	2	-	11
#5 Gettysburg (10-1)	4	6	-	10

Goals:

TCNJ: Lauren Dougher 4, Bridget Bigley 3, Jill Baldwin 2, Katie Wagenblast, Liz O’Connor.

Gettysburg: Megan Murphy 8, Julika Blankenship 2.

Assists:

TCNJ: Wagenblast 3, O’Connor 2, Lauren Gossner.

Gettysburg: Blankenship 3, Lindsay Barton 1.
 
Shots: TCNJ 27, Gettysburg 23.

Ground Balls: TCNJ 24, Gettysburg 26.

Goalies: TCNJ (Jen Munday – 60:00, 7 saves, 10 GA), Gettysburg (Liz Borucki – 60:00, 7 saves, 11 GA).

Draw Controls: TCNJ 11, Gettysburg 12.

Caused Turnovers: TCNJ 9, Gettysburg 10.

Turnovers: TCNJ 14, Gettysburg 14.

Fouls: TCNJ 13, Gettysburg 17.

Free Position: TCNJ 3 of 6, Gettysburg 2 of 4.

Attendance: 450.
 

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