Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Alexa Bushey (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) scored the game-winning goal in the 50th minute and head coach Matt Garrett picked up his 100th career victory as the Gettysburg College women's soccer team blanked Muhlenberg College 1-0 in a Centennial Conference (CC) tilt Saturday afternoon at Clark Field.
 
With the win, the Bullets (7-6-1, 3-3-1 CC) moved up to fifth place in the Centennial Conference standings with two games left on their schedule. The top-five teams qualify for the conference championship tournament.
 
Garrett, in his 10th season at Gettysburg, became the second coach in program history to reach 100 wins. He has now posted a career record of 100-57-22 at the helm of the Bullets.
 
The contest marked the final regular-season home match for Gettysburg seniors Carly Cobbol (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield), Courtney Long (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich), Julia Ramsey (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga), and Hannah Theurer (Darnestown, Md./Northwest), who were honored in a brief ceremony before the game.
 
Gettysburg outshot the Mules 13-7 while holding a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
 
Sophomore Kiera Loftus (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) needed to make just one save to earn her sixth shutout of the season while Marissa D'Alessandro stopped eight shots for Muhlenberg (4-7-3, 1-4-3 CC).
 
In the 50th minute, Ramsey sent a cross from the right side of the field into the box. It was deflected by a defender out to Bushey, who from the right wing drilled in a shot off the left post and into the net for all the offense the Bullets would need.
 
It was a tight first half, when Gettysburg held a 6-5 shot advantage. The Bullets nearly went in front when sophomore Samantha Esposito (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) had a good luck at the net on a breakaway in the 11th minute, but D'Alessandro made a diving save.
 
Loftus made her lone save an impressive one, laying out for a one-handed stop in the 24th minute on a well-struck ball from Danni Steigerwald. D'Alessandro made a pair of additional saves in the final three minutes of the half and it was a scoreless match at the intermission.
 
The Mules came up with another big stop when a defender cleared a header from sophomore Lauren Miesemer (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) that appeared to be headed for the back of the net. But Bushey scored three minutes later for her second goal of the season.
 
The Bullets outshot Muhlenberg 5-2 over the rest of the half, but D'Allesandro came up with four saves to keep the Mules in it.
 
Gettysburg visits Franklin & Marshall College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in another Centennial Conference match.