Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Senior Ian Forster (Doylestown, Pa./ Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) provided the game-tying goal in the 22nd minute and for the third time in their last four postseason meetings, Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins needed extra time to decide a victor. The Bullets attempt to end the Blue Jays' championship reign came to an end, however, as the two-time defending champs scored the game-winning tally in the 98th minute to advance to Sunday's Centennial Conference championship match.

Johns Hopkins (12-4-3), the third seed for the tournament, advances to play No. 1 seed and host Swarthmore College (14-2-2) on Sunday for the CC title, while Gettysburg's season comes to a close with a record of 9-5-4.

After dropping a 3-1 decision to the Bullets in the regular season, the Blue Jays came out firing with three shots in the first 10 minutes of play, all by Nick Gauna. The third try was the charm as Gauna's shot from the far right wing resulted in the first tally of the afternoon at 9:07.

Johns Hopkins continued to pepper the goal, but Gettysburg mounted an offensive strike around the 20th minute. Following the team's first shot by junior Geoff Menge (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) at 20:52, Forster lit the lamp for the second time this season 32 seconds later, blasting a 30-yard shot into the top corner of the goal.

The Bullets managed two more shots in the final minutes of the opening stanza, but senior Chris Bayon's (Langhorne, Pa./Lawrenceville School (N.J.)) attempt was turned away by Blue Jay goalie Matt Mierley and junior Chris Brown's (Far Hills, N.J./Ridge) shot was blocked by a defender.

In the final period of regulation, the Blue Jays kept the heat on with nine shots. Gettysburg senior keeper Adam Finkel (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) turned away two attempts in the 50th minute by Max Venker and in the 82nd minute by Gauna. Mierley made one save to preserve the tie in the 77th minute, stopping a shot by Bullets first-year Ted McCarthy (Longmeadow, Mass./The Loomis Chaffee School (Conn.))

After playing out overtime contests in 2005 and 2006 in the conference tournament, Saturday's affair went the same direction as neither team could resolve the issue in regulation. Johns Hopkins came out the aggressor with a corner kick leading directly to a header by Matt Carlson that sailed wide just under five minutes in. Carlson, recently named CC Player of the Year, came right back two minutes later with the game-winning blast from over 30 yards away, marking his fourth goal of the 2008 campaign.

Johns Hopkins held a 21-6 advantage in the shot department and also led in corner kicks 7-3.

Finkel finished the day with three saves for Gettysburg.