Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg jumped to an 11-1 halftime lead and the ninth-ranked Bullets cruised to a 16-2 Centennial Conference (CC) men's lacrosse victory over Muhlenberg College Saturday afternoon at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
 
Senior Mike Distler (Lutherville, Md./Loyola Blakefield) pumped in a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists for Gettysburg (6-2, 2-0 CC), which won its third game in a row. Freshman Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) added three goals while senior Paul Werner (Westfield, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) contributed two goals and two assists. Senior Jameson Smith (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) and junior Reed Barbe (Greenwich, Conn./Suffield Academy) pitched in with two goals each.
 
Sophomore Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) finished 9-for-17 on face-offs while classmate Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) made five saves while allowing just one goal over the opening 40 minutes. Freshman Chris Verdeur (Villanova, Pa./Shipley School) picked up five ground balls.
 
Gettysburg outshot the Mules 35-19 and held a 29-20 advantage in ground balls.
 
The Bullets blanked the Mules (3-8, 0-3 CC) in the first quarter, when four different players found the back of the net. Gettysburg scored its first two goals eight seconds apart, when Distler struck with 12:27 on the clock before Fulgione won the ensuing face-off and fed Gray in transition.
 
The Orange and Blue converted on the run again with 7:32 left, when junior long-stick midfielder Chris Palladino (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) took a dish from junior Brendan Hathaway (Darien, Conn./Darien) and buried his first career goal. Werner capped the first-quarter scoring with 4:18 on the clock, finishing off a feed from Distler.
 
Barbe got into the act just 27 seconds into the second quarter, scoring his first goal off a Palladino assist. Muhlenberg broke up the shutout with 12:24 on the clock on a goal from Jason Ku.
 
Gettysburg ended the half with a six-goal flurry over the final 9:16. Distler kicked off the run with a man-up goal before Smith and Werner each found paydirt to make it 9-1. Smith and Gray added two more power-play tallies before Distler capped the stanza with his third goal of the day, tickling the twine at the 1:22 mark to give his team its 10-goal advantage at the half.
 
The Bullets continued their assault with the first five goals of the second half to make it an 11-0 run. Barbe scored Gettysburg's fourth and final man-up goal of the day with 13:19 on the clock before junior Ivan Morris (Houston, Texas/Houston Christian) tallied with 9:32 showing. Gray then took a pass from freshman Mike Risser (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) at X and buried a shot from the right post just before the horn to make it a 14-1 game heading into the final period.
 
Gettysburg tacked on two more goals in the fourth quarter. Freshman Andrew Garstka (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic) struck with 12:54 left before sophomore Justin McBride (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) cashed in for his first collegiate goal, making an impressive spin move to shake a defender.
 
Muhlenberg set the final score when Peter Zipf scored off a rebound with 4:50 to go.
 
Senior Jake Adoni (Fort Washington, Pa./Germantown Academy), junior Thomas McBride (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School), and junior Ryan Goodall (Dover, Mass./Dover-Sherborn) all entered the game at goalie for the Bullets, sharing the final 20 minutes. McBride finished with three saves in just over five minutes of play.
 
The Bullets pick up their schedule next Saturday, when they host Swarthmore College at 1 p.m. in another Centennial Conference affair.