Box Score

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Gettysburg College busted out a six-goal run in the first half and the defense took care of business once again as the fourth-ranked Bullets knocked off eighth-ranked Amherst College 12-4 to reach the regional championship of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.
 
Gettysburg (18-2) will meet host and fifth-ranked Middlebury College (19-1), which defeated No. 18 St. John Fisher College 12-9, for the third time in five seasons in the NCAA playoffs. The two rivals will battle on Kohn Field at 1 p.m. on Sunday with the winner advancing to the national semifinals next weekend.
 
The Bullets have been lined up to meet the Panthers in each of the last four seasons, but in two of the last three regionals, the squad has been upset in a pair of one-goal losses, first to RPI 9-8 in 2013 and then by York (Pa.) College 8-7 last spring.
 
This time around, however, Gettysburg maintained its focus and set the tone early against Amherst. Senior Maggie Connolly (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) snagged the opening draw control and in short order, found junior Emma Christie (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) for the first goal at 28:21. Just 59 seconds later, Connolly scored her own tally off a feed from sophomore Katie Landry (Hingham, Mass./Hingham).
 
After Kate Wyeth scored Amherst's first goal with 22:28 left in the first half, the Bullets ran off a six-goal scoring spurt. Five of those tallies came in a two-minute stretch as Connolly and fellow seniors Abby Baigelman (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck), Amanda Borucki (Westminster, Md./North Carroll), and Emily Tropsa (Darien, Conn./Darien) all lit the lamp.
 
Following a save by junior goalie Shannon Keeler (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) on a free-position shot by Rachel Passarelli at 8:42, sophomore Katie Willis (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) came back the other way with a goal 15 seconds later to make it 8-1.
 
Leading 8-2 at the break, Gettysburg blew the game open with the first four goals of the final period. A save by Keeler and a caused turnover by sophomore Ali Gorab (Southport, Conn./Ludlowe) led to a goal by sophomore Maggie Welsh (Rye, N.Y./Holy Child) to start the second half. Borucki's third goal at 16:43 was followed with a score by Landry just 19 seconds later. Landry's second tally made it 12-2 with 14:31 left.
 
Amherst scored back-to-back goals to slice the deficit to eight with 8:46 to play. Gettysburg, which came into the game ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense, completely shut down Amherst over the remaining time, forcing five turnovers and not allowing a single shot.
 
The Bullets stepped up big defensively again, holding Amherst to its lowest goal total of the season (tied) and just 17 shots. Amherst finished just 10-of-17 on clear attempts in the game. Dating back to the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Championship, Gettysburg has allowed just 15 goals in four postseason games.
 
Keeler finished with five saves and two ground balls for the Bullets. Junior Katelyn Neillands (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) tallied two caused turnovers and a ground ball, while freshman Brooke Holechek (Reisterstown, Md./Notre Dame Prep) produced a pair of ground balls and one caused turnover.
 
Borucki led the scoring effort with her fifth hat trick of the season. Connolly added two goals, two assists, two ground balls, and four draw controls. Landry put up two goals and an assist, while Tropsa finished with a goal and three ground balls. Junior Caroline Jaeger (High Bridge, N.J./Hampton) came up with four draw controls.
 
Middlebury leads the all-time series with Gettysburg 7-2. The Bullets won the last meeting 9-7 in the third round of NCAAs in 2014. Sunday's meeting will be the fourth in the national playoffs with the Panthers holding a 2-1 edge.