Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Freshman goalie Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) made 14 saves while junior Paul Werner (Westfield, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) scored all of his career-high-tying four goals in the first half, lifting the second-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team to a 9-5 victory over third-ranked and previously-undefeated Ohio Wesleyan University in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
 
Gettysburg (20-0) will now make its ninth appearance in the NCAA Division III semifinals on Saturday, when it hosts either Lynchburg College or Salisbury University on Saturday at a time to be announced.
 
The Bullets extended their school-record winning streak to 20 and have now won three more games than any team in program history.
 
The Orange and Blue never trailed and outscored the Battling Bishops (18-1) 6-1 in the first half.
 
Senior Bijan Firouzan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) added two goals for the Bullets while sophomore Sean Fumai (Weston, Conn./Weston) and senior Brendan Morris (Waccabuc, N.Y./John Jay) contributed one goal and two assists apiece. Freshman Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) won 9-of-16 face-offs while senior defensive midfielder Nick Alibrandi (Fort Salonga, N.Y./St. Anthony's) picked up four ground balls. Senior attackman Robby Maddux (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's) also contributed defensively with four caused turnovers and three ground balls in addition to his one goal.
 
Ryan McMahon made 14 saves for Ohio Wesleyan while Marcus Dietz posted two goals and one assist. John Umbach also scored two goals for the Battling Bishops.
 
The Bullets wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Firouzan scored off a feed from junior Jameson Smith (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) just 55 seconds into the contest. But OWU pulled even when Dietz picked off an errant clearing pass and slipped in a goal to make it 1-1 with 10:53 on the first-quarter clock. But that's when Werner got hot, scoring four times in a 5-0 Gettysburg run to end the half.
 
One game after scoring the game-winning goal over Ursinus College in the second overtime, Werner struck off an assist from senior Jimmy Morris (Waccabuc, N.Y./John Jay) with 4:59 remaining in the opening quarter to give the Bullets the lead for good. He then scored just before the horn off dish from Brendan Morris to make it 3-1 heading into the second quarter.
 
Maddux kept the momentum going when he converted a pass from Fumai with 12:30 remaining in the opening half. Just 48 seconds later, Werner deposited an impressive shovel shot driving down the lane, pushing the hosts lead to 5-1.
 
Werner scored in the closing seconds once again before the end of the half, striking off a Fumai assist with seven ticks showing to hand his team its five-goal halftime advantage. Meanwhile, Brady was particularly impressive in the second quarter, making seven of his saves in the period.
 
Ohio Wesleyan was outshot 19-14 in the first half but turned up its offensive pressure in the second half, when it held a 20-14 shot advantage. Luke Leyden scored with 9:33 left in the third quarter to make it 6-2, but Brendan Morris answered for the Bullets just over a minute later. Gettysburg also answered the Battling Bishops' next two tallies as well, as Fumai scored with 12:10 remaining to make it 8-3 before Firouzan cashed in during a man-up opportunity to give the Bullets a 9-4 lead with 1:31 to go. Umbach set the final score with 33 seconds to go, when he scored his second goal of the day.
 
OWU finished with a 34-33 edge in shots while the two sides split their 18 face-offs.