Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Stevenson University outscored Gettysburg 8-4 in the second half and the 11th-ranked Mustangs handed the sixth-ranked Bullets an 11-6 setback in non-conference men's lacrosse action at a cold and blustery Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium Saturday afternoon.
It was a defensive battle through three quarters, with Stevenson (1-1) leading the Bullets 6-3 heading into the final stanza. Gettysburg made it a two-goal game when sophomore
Tommy Heller (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) scored with 14:01 remaining, but the Mustangs used a 5-1 run to pull away.
Heller and sophomore
Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) finished with two goals and one assist apiece for the Bullets (2-2) while senior
Sean Fumai (Weston, Conn./Weston) also scored twice. Junior goalie
Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence School) registered 13 saves while sophomore long-stick midfielder
Chris Verdeur (Villanova, Pa./Shipley School) posted five ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Wade Korvin led Stevenson with four goals while JT Thelen added two goals and two assists. Ross Dinan made eight saves for the Mustangs, who won 15-of-21 face-offs and posted advantages in shots (49-32) and ground balls (32-27).
The two sides were meeting for the first time since the second round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament. It was also just the second time the two teams met in Gettysburg and the first since the inaugural meeting in 2008.
The Bullets, playing a nationally-ranked opponent for the second game in a row, struck first when Gray scored off a shot that deflected off the post, putting his team up 1-0 just over two minutes into the contest. Kyle Karsian answered for Stevenson with 11:00 showing, and it turned out to be the final goal of the quarter as the two sides headed for the second period with the scoreboard reading 1-1.
Gettysburg went back on top when Fumai finished off a dish from Gray with 14:25 left in the opening half. However, that would turn out to be the Bullets' final lead of the afternoon. Tyler Fuhrman tied it for the Mustangs with 12:25 remaining before Korvin converted on a fast-break with just five ticks showing, giving the visitors a 3-2 halftime edge.
Stevenson held just a 17-16 shot advantage in the first before outshooting the Bullets 32-16 over the final 30 minutes. Fumai pulled Gettysburg even when he scored off an assist from Heller with 10:07 to go in the third quarter, but the Mustangs outscored the Bullets 3-0 over the remainder of the period to open up their 6-3 lead. Thelen scored Stevenson's first two goals of the quarter and assisted on the third.
After Heller's first goal of the day, Stevenson used a balanced scoring effort during their game-ending run, with five different players accounting for their five goals. Karsian, Korvin, and D'Onofrio scored three in a row to make it a 9-4 game with 6:58 left before Heller stopped the bleeding for Gettysbug at the 5:02 mark. However, Jacob Brown and Sean Ohlhaver answered with back-to-back tallies for Stevenson before Gray set the final score on a goal with 1:23 left.
The Bullets play another nationally-ranked opponent on Wednesday, when they host No. 5 York (Pa.) College at 3:30 p.m. in another non-conference affair and a rematch of last year's NCAA Division III quarterfinals.
