Gettysburg College Athletics

LANCASTER, Pa. – Junior Krissy Bradley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) picked an opportune time to score her first goal of the season, striking in the 57th minute as the Gettysburg College women's soccer team blanked host Franklin & Marshall College 1-0 in a key Centennial Conference (CC) match-up Wednesday evening.
 
With the win, the Bullets (8-6-1, 4-3-1 CC) earned their seventh-straight CC playoff berth and will face Haverford College in a first-round match next Wednesday at a time and location to be determined.
 
Gettysburg held a commanding 19-8 shot advantage, but Nicole Savidge made eight saves for the Diplomats (6-9-1, 1-6-1 CC).
 
Sophomore Kiera Loftus (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) collected four saves, including a spectacular diving stop in game's final minutes, for her seventh shutout of the season.
 
The Bullets outshot the Diplomats 9-4 in the first half, when Savidge made five of her saves. But the Gettysburg defense did not allow a shot on goal and it was a 0-0 game at the intermission.
 
Gettysburg finally broke through on their third shot of the second half. Sophomore Samantha Esposito (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) sent a cross from the far sideline into the middle of the box, and Bradley was there to deflect it into the net to give the Orange and Blue all of the offense they would need. It was the first career assist for Esposito.
 
The Bullets outshot the Dips 10-4 in the second half, but all four of F&M's shots were on goal. However, Loftus turned aside all four, including an all-out diving stop to her right in the 86th minute to preserve the clean sheet.
 
Gettysburg closes out the regular season on Saturday, when it visits 16th-ranked Johns Hopkins University in a Centennial Conference tilt starting at 1 p.m.