GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Freshman Sam Lerman (Wayzata, Minn./Field School) and senior Patrick Santini (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) scored one goal apiece while senior Max Karen (Huntington, N.Y./Elwood-John Glenn) made four saves as the Gettysburg College men's soccer team closed out the regular season with a 2-1 victory over Centennial Conference (CC) foe Ursinus on Senior Day at Clark Field.
 
The Bullets (13-4, 7-2 CC) finish third in the conference standings and will face second-seeded Franklin & Marshall in the CC semifinals on Friday at top-seeded Johns Hopkins at a time to be determined.
 
Gettysburg's 10 seniors were honored in a ceremony before the start. Seniors David Baer (Merion, Pa./Lower Merion) and Baki Bawa (Tamale, Ghana/Millbrook School [N.Y.]) each started and played the opening minutes after missing most of the last three seasons due to injury.
 
Gettysburg's 13 victories are the most in program history since the 2001 team finished 16-5.
 
Ursinus closed out the season 2-13-1 and 0-9 in the Centennial Conference.
 
Lerman spotted the Bullets an early 1-0 lead, scoring in the sixth minute on the game's first shot. He pulled up from the right side the box and delivered a shot inside the left post for his third goal of the season.
 
Gettysburg would outshoot the Bears 7-4 in the opening half, but placed just two shots on goal in the period. Karen registered three of his stops in the period.
 
Santini gave the Bullets a cushion when he struck in the 52nd. He stepped in front of an Ursinus throw-in, then streaked into the box before beating the goalie for a wide-open shot into the net for his 20th goal of the season. Santini becomes just the third player in school history to reach 20 goals and the first since Jason Vishio '00 in 1998.
 
Though Gettysburg controlled much of the second half, outshooting the Bears 8-2, Ursinus pulled to within striking distance when Christian D'Ascenzo scored with 1:26 left. The visitors twice pushed the ball into Bullet territory in the final minute, but Gettysburg's back line came up with a pair of key clears to clinch the victory.