Vaughan notched 11 saves while allowing only one goal in the first half as the Bullets (13-3) jumped to a 5-1 lead and held on for a trip to their fifth consecutive CC championship game. Gettysburg will meet perennial finals opponent Washington on Sunday in search of the program’s ninth CC title. The Shoremen knocked off Dickinson 15-10 in the day’s other semifinal.

 Liberto picked the perfect time for his first multi-point game of the season, scoring an unassisted goal to cap the Bullets’ 4-0 first quarter and setting up goals by Jon Sowanick (Bethesda, MD/Bullis) and Brian Pryor (Dallas, TX/St. Mark’s). The junior midfielder also provided a spark by winning 4 of 5 face-offs against F&M’s Matt Capone, the CC’s top face-off specialist.

 Sowanick scored twice in the win, two of six goals scored by Gettysburg midfielders on the day. Pryor added a goal and an assist as the Bullets improved to 8-1 all-time in the CC playoffs.

 Steve Welsh scored twice and handed out his conference-leading 45th assist in the loss, F&M’s fourth in as many trips to the CC postseason. Mike Sartorius made 11 saves for the Diplomats (9-5), who outshot Gettysburg 47-22 on the afternoon.

 In sharp contrast to last Saturday’s 13-12 regular-season finale, Friday’s meeting was a battle of defenses and goaltending with Vaughan leading the way.

 The Bullet netminder, who watched the Diplomats score six first-quarter goals on Saturday, made eight saves on 11 F&M shots in Friday’s first quarter, keeping the Diplomats off the board until midway through the second frame.

 Gettysburg’s offense responded with an early burst. Sowanick opened the scoring with an unassisted goal and Pryor set up Kevin Freehill (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) at the 8:07 mark for a 2-0 lead.

 Vaughan made three saves to kill a 30-second penalty before Brian Ford (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) lasered home a pass from Evan Gallant (Lutherville, MD/Loyola Blakefield) to make it 3-0. Minutes later, Liberto shook free of the Diplomat defense and finished a solo run to cap the quarter.

 Peter Moon’s unassisted goal put F&M on the board with 8:20 left in the first half, but Sowanick answered with his second goal of the day – set up by Liberto – to give the Bullets a 5-1 lead at halftime.

 Welsh went to work in the third quarter, setting up Phil Schellhorn and scoring an unassisted goal with 32 seconds left in the period to pull F&M within 6-3. Liberto won the ensuing face-off, however, and set up Pryor seconds later to make it 7-3 heading into the final quarter.

 Goals from Lincoln Fischer and Welsh pulled the Diplomats within 7-5, but Gettysburg didn’t allow a shot in the final 2:15 to seal the victory.

 In addition to Vaughan, the Bullets got a lift from their man-down unit, which killed all six of F&M’s extra-man opportunities on the day.

 Liberto, Matt Smith (Quakertown, PA/Germantown Acad.) and Yanni Peary (South Portland, ME/Cape Elizabeth) led Gettysburg with four ground balls apiece.
 Kevin Kohl and Colin Hanley each fired a team-high 11 shots for F&M.

 Gettysburg is seeking its ninth CC championship in the conference’s 12-year history. The Bullets are 3-1 against Washington in four prior CC finals. Game time on Sunday is 1 p.m.
 

Goals

F&M: Steve Welsh 2, Peter Moon, Phil Schellhorn, Lincoln Fischer.

Gettysburg: Jon Sowanick 2, T.J. Liberto, Brian Pryor, Chris Renzi, Brian Ford, Kevin Freehill.
 
Assists

F&M: Welsh.

Gettysburg: Liberto 2, Pryor, Evan Gallant.
 
Shots: F 47, G 22.

Ground Balls: F 26, G 28.

Goalies: F (Mike Sartorius – 60:00, 11 saves, 7 GA), G (Pat Vaughan – 60:00, 17 saves, 5 GA).

Extra-Man: F 0 of 6, G 0 of 3.

Face-Offs: F 9, G 6.

Clearing: F 17 of 18, G 19 of 22.

Penalties: F 3 for 2:30, G 6 for 4:30.