GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Christian Pyros (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) scored off a free kick in the 35th minute to lift the Gettysburg College men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over visiting McDaniel College Saturday evening at Clark Field.
 
After combining for six goals a year ago, Saturday's affair between Gettysburg (3-11-1, 3-4-1 CC) and McDaniel (7-6-3, 1-5-2 CC) was more akin to a war of attrition as the two defenses maintained a strong front. Pyros made the host's first shot on goal count as he blasted a free kick just outside the left side of the box into the right corner of the goal. The play marked the junior's second consecutive outing with a goal off of a free kick.
 
The Green Terror tried to answer right back with a flurry of shots with under eight minutes to go. Shane McCracken had a pair of attempts blocked, the last a point-blank attempt that junior back Andrew Carlino (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) kicked away at the last second. Peter Vorel followed up McCracken's last shot with his own stab at the cage, but senior goal Connor Darrell (Cream Ridge, N.J./Allentown) came up with a diving save to his right to preserve the lead.
 
After allowing 13 shots combined in the first half, the defenses were even stingier in the final stanza, allowing just six attempts at the cages. Darrell stopped another shot by McCracken in the 51st minute for his third and final save of the day, while his McDaniel counterpart, Zach Nibbelink turned away an attempt by senior Andrew Bellis (Hershey, Pa./Hersey) in the 72nd minute.
 
Gettysburg finished with a slight lead in shots at 10-9, while McDaniel posted a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The Bullets host Goucher College in a non-conference affair on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.