NCAA Division III Tournament Bracket

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Seeking to reach the national semifinals for the 11th time in program history and for the third time in four years, the third--ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team hosts No. 11 Ohio Wesleyan University on Wednesday in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals.
 
The Bullets (18-2) and the Battling Bishops (17-3) face off at 2 p.m. at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. The winner will move on to face the winner of the quarterfinal between ninth-ranked Dickinson College and seventh-ranked Salisbury University.
 
Ticket prices for Wednesday's game are $5 for adults, $3 for students ages 13-18, and for college students with ID from one of the participating institutions, and $2 for children ages 3-12. Children under 3 are admitted for free.
 
Gettysburg, which has posted the second-highest win total in school history, reached the quarterfinals with its 22-9 victory over Rhodes College on Saturday. The Bullets have outscored their opponents 37-12 over their two NCAA games after defeating Elizabethtown College 15-3 in their tournament opener.
 
Sophomores Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) have been the team's top offensive performers in the tournament thus far, posting eight goals and one assist apiece, while juniors Andrew Garstka (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic) and Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) added four goals each versus Rhodes. Defensively, senior Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) has allowed just nine goals in the tournament while senior defenseman Nick Hill (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) turned in a big performance against Elizabethtown, racking up nine ground balls and five caused turnovers. In addition, senior Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) and sophomore Connor Hunt (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) have combined to win 60.4 percent (32-53) of their face-offs thus far.
 
Ohio Wesleyan opened tournament play with a 13-5 victory over Aurora College, then edged No. 10 Denison University 11-10 this past Saturday. Junior Max Tennant led the Battling Bishops with three goals versus Denison while senior Ben Rigger made 10 saves. In addition, senior Trent Schulte won 9-of-15 face-offs.
 
Wednesday's game will mark the 12th all-time meeting between the two teams, with the Bullets holding a 7-4 advantage. Gettysburg has captured the last six match-ups, with Ohio Wesleyan's last series victory coming in 1992. In their last meeting, the Bullets earned a 9-5 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2015 NCAA Division III tournament, when both teams entered the contest undefeated.
 
The Centennial Conference runner-up, Gettysburg has received a balanced scoring effort this season, with Kolen leading the way with 51 goals and 20 assists. Harvey has contributed 34 goals and 18 assists while Garstka has tossed in 33 goals. Freshman Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) has aided the offense with 30 goals and 25 assists while junior Tommy Heller (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) has notched 21 goals and 23 helpers.
 
On defense, Brady is a four-year starter in goal who ranks second in program history in goalie wins (57) and sixth in saves (615). This season, the three-time All-Centennial Conference selection has posted a 7.79 goals-against average and a 54.0 save percentage while starting every game. On the back row, sophomore defenseman Mitch Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and has posted a team-leading 81 ground balls to go with 16 caused turnovers. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) leads the squad in caused turnovers (24) while Fulgione has been the team's primary face-off specialist, winning 55.8 percent of his trips to the X.
 
The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) runner-up, Ohio Wesleyan enters the game ranked 12th in Division III in scoring offense, averaging 15.5 goals per game. Like Gettysburg, the Battling Bishops went undefeated (8-0) in conference play before losing in their league final, dropping a 14-7 decision to Denison. Offensively, OWU is led by junior Steven Hildebrand, who has accumulated 94 points on 54 goals and 40 assists, and Tennant, who has piled up 78 goals and ranks fifth in Division III in goals per game (3.90). Rigger has been the team's primary goalie this season, going 16-3 with a 7.66 goals-against average and a 54.9 save percentage, while senior defensive midfielder Peter Hamblett was named the NCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Hamblett has posted 31 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers while contributing offensively with 13 goals and 12 assists.
 
Ohio Wesleyan is coached by Mike Plantholt '01, a former standout for the Bullets who was named the Division III Defenseman of the Year in 2001.