Gettysburg-Muhlenberg Box Score Washington-Haverford Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Sophomores Joe Brody (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) and Kyle McGrath (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) each notched a hat trick and the No. 3-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team advanced to its eighth-straight Centennial Conference championship game, defeating Muhlenberg College 13-3 in the semifinals Friday afternoon at Clark Field.
Gettysburg (14-2) will now play No. 4 Washington (Md.) College, an 11-6 winner over No. 9 Haverford College in the other semifinal, in Sunday's championship game at 1 p.m. Gettysburg and Washington have now advanced to meet in the Centennial championship game in all eight years that the conference has held a postseason tournament.
The Bullets never trailed after scoring the first six goals of the game. Gettysburg came up big on special teams, cashing in on 3-of-5 extra-man opportunities.
Junior Drew Duckworth (Rye, N.Y./Hotchkiss School (Conn.)) scored two goals and handed out one assist for the Bullets while senior Trip Dyer (Ocean View, Del./Worcester Prep (Md.)) contributed a pair of goals. Junior Zachary Furshman (Miami, Fla./Kent School (Conn.)) held the Mules to a pair goals while making seven saves over 52:35 of action.
With his final goal of the game, Brody reached the career 100-point plateau while upping his team-leading goal total to 44.
Andrew Bell collected six saves while playing the opening 44:41 in goal for Muhlenberg (10-5).
Sophomore Patrick Koehl (Shamong, N.J./St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.)) put Gettysburg on the scoreboard when he punched in his third goal of the season with 9:25 left in the opening quarter. McGrath followed up with back-to-back goals four minutes apart, giving the Bullets a 3-0 advantage with 4:18 on the clock.
Dyer capped Gettysburg's first-quarter scoring, firing in a pair of man-up goals, the second coming with 14 ticks showing, to give the Blue & Orange a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Senior Ben Sufrin (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) made it three straight man-up goals for the Bullets when he converted 1:40 into the second quarter, pushing Gettysburg's lead to 6-0. Mickey Norton broke up the shutout at the 11:42 mark before Brody and junior Zach Pucci (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) notched unassisted tallies over the final 5:21 to make it an 8-1 game at the break.
The Bullets out-shot Muhlenberg 25-8 in the opening half.
Gettysburg settled any doubt in the third quarter, when it outscored the Mules 4-1. Duckworth found the back of the net 1:33 into the stanza before Nick Fletcher made it 9-2 at the 6:11 mark. The Bullets then rattled off four straight goals, with Brody scoring twice over a 13-second span just before the three-minute mark of the third quarter, giving him his 11th hat trick of the year. Duckworth's second goal of the game gave his team a 12-2 cushion heading into the final 15 minutes.
McGrath capped Gettysburg's scoring with 7:55 left, posting his second hat trick of the season. Kyle Farris set the final score with a man-up goal with 1:52 remaining.
Gettysburg out-shot Muhlenberg 37-21 and held a 38-15 advantage in ground balls. The Mules won 11 of 19 face-offs.
In the second game, Haverford led 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, but Washington took over the game with an 8-0 run spanning the second and third quarters. The Shoremen outscored the Black Squirrels 4-0 in the second quarter to take a 5-2 halftime lead, then tacked on four more goals in the third quarter, including a shot then went in at the horn, to seize a commanding 9-2 lead.
Haverford scored twice over the opening 4:16 of the fourth quarter to make it interesting, but Washington iced it with a pair of goals midway through the period.
Junior goalie Gordon Cohen had a big game for Washington, making 18 saves as the Shoremen were out-shot 41-29. Jimmy Kielek and Kolyn Kirby posted hat tricks for Washington, scoring three goals apiece, while Max Hjelm also notched three goals for Haverford.
