GETTYSBURG, Pa. – On the strength of a stifling defensive effort and a 5-0 mid-game run, the third-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team marched into the NCAA Division III semifinals with an 8-5 victory over No. 11 Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday at a wet Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
 
The Bullets (19-2) will now host the winner of Wednesday night's quarterfinal between No. 9 Dickinson and No. 7 Salisbury on Sunday at 4 p.m. Gettysburg will be making its 11th appearance in the NCAA semifinals and its third in the last four years.
 
Gettysburg allowed just two goals over the opening 52 minutes before the Battling Bishops (17-4) used a late 3-0 spurt to draw to within 7-5 with 3:08 to go. But junior Andrew Garstka (Springfield, N.J./Paul VI Catholic) stemmed the rally on an empty-netter with 1:35 remaining to clinch the victory.
 
The Bullets tied the program record for the fewest goals allowed in an NCAA tournament game in the quarterfinal round or later. Four other Gettysburg teams also yielded just five goals in the quarterfinals.
 
Gettysburg is now just one win shy of the program record for single-season victories, which was set in 2015.
 
Senior Tim Brady (Providence, N.C./Providence) made eight saves for the Bullets, who never trailed. Sophomore defensive midfielder Eric Carr (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Academy of the New Church) posted four caused turnovers and three  ground balls while sophomore defenseman Mitch Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) contributed four ground balls.
 
Garstka paced the Bullets offensively with three goals while sophomore Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) added a pair of tallies. Freshman Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) pitched with one goal and two assists.
 
Ben Rigger made 11 saves to lead Ohio Wesleyan.
 
Gettysburg wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, striking on its first possession of the game. After OWU won the opening face-off, senior Sam Runkel (Fairfield, Conn./Avon Old Farms) scooped up an errant pass near midfield and raced it forward before dishing it to Fletcher, who sent in a one-timer from the right post just 30 seconds into the contest.
 
Ohio Wesleyan answered with a goal at the 6:13 mark, and the two sides were tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Two minutes into the second period, McCormick put the Bullets up 2-1 when he took a cross from Fletcher and rifled in a hard shot from close range. Neither side would score again until the Battling Bishops tied it again with 5:24 showing in the opening half.
 
Ohio Wesleyan had the ball in the final minute, but Brady made a save with 36 seconds left, leading to a Bullet timeout with 18 ticks showing. Then with nine seconds to go, junior Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) sent the Bullets into the locker room with some momentum, burying a runner from 14 yards out to make it a 3-2 game at the intermission.
 
Harvey's goal was the start of Gettysburg's aforementioned 5-0 surge. The Bullets would blank the Bishops 3-0 in a pivotal third quarter, when they held a 9-3 shot advantage. McCormick struck again two and a half minutes into the period, shaking loose from a defender before drilling in a left-handed shot from 13 yards away to make it a 4-2 game.
 
Garstka drove hard down the lane and scored with 8:56 left in the third quarter before junior Will DeMartin (Summit, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) bounced home a shot just over a minute later to push Gettysburg's surplus to 6-2, which held up as the score at the end of the period.
 
Neither side scored again until Garstka connected from long range for a man-up goal with 8:35 left. But Ohio Wesleyan refused to go away and scored 26 seconds later after winning the ensuing face-off.
 
The Bishops scored again with 3:32 remaining before converting on a man-up tally 24 seconds later, drawing to within 7-5. The visitors had a chance to make it a one-goal game after winning the face-off, but turned it over a minute later. An OWU player was then whistled for a pair of one-minute penalties at the 2:02 mark, and with the goalie pulled, Garstka circled around the back of the net before tossing in his third goal of the day, setting the final score.
 
Gettysburg finished with slight advantages in shots (36-33) and ground balls (26-24).