GETTYSBURG, Pa. – On the strength of a stellar defensive showing, the top-seeded and third-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team downed fourth-seeded Haverford 7-5 in the Centennial Conference (CC) semifinals Wednesday afternoon at a sweltering Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
 
Senior Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) made nine saves in goal for the Bullets (16-1), who won their 10th game in a row while advancing to the CC championship game for the fourth-straight season. Gettysburg claimed the title in 2015 and 2016 before capturing runner-up honors last season.
 
The Bullets will host second-seeded and ninth-ranked Dickinson in the conference final on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Red Devils held on for a 17-16 victory over third-seeded and 13th-ranked Franklin & Marshall in the other semifinal Wednesday evening.
 
Gettysburg trailed just once in an extremely tight contest that featured three ties and three lead changes. The Bullets led 5-4 heading into the last five minutes, but received a big goal from sophomore Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) before classmate Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) iced it with an empty-netter with 37 seconds left.
 
Sophomore long-stick midfielder Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) added five ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Bullet defense while senior Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) won 12-of-16 face-offs. Freshman Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) scored two goals while Kolen notched one goal and two assists.
 
Dylan Slack made 13 saves for Haverford (7-8).
 
Gettysburg struck first, when Fletcher scored just 1:38 into the contest. However, the Fords responded with a pair of first-quarter tallies to assume a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.
 
The Bullets scored the only two goals in the second quarter, when junior Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) converted from point-blank range with 12:04 left before freshman Kadin Kightlinger (Purcellville, Va./Bishop O'Connell) ripped in his first collegiate goal with a blast from the left wing less than a minute later. Neither side scored over the rest of the period and Gettysburg led 3-2 at the half.
 
Haverford pulled even with 9:04 left in the third quarter, but Gettysburg went ahead to stay with a pair of tallies midway through the stanza. Fletcher scored from the doorstep with 6:49 on the clock before junior Will DeMartin (Summit, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) followed up 3:54 showing. However, Ben Frost answered just over a minute later with his second goal of the game, drawing the Fords to within 5-4 heading into the final stanza.
 
Kightlinger set up Gettysburg's next goal, finding Kolen on the left post to make it 6-4. After McCormick's tally, Haverford set the final score on a goal with 18 seconds left.
 
The Bullets move on to the Centennial Conference final for the 14th time in team history and will be aiming for their conference-leading 16th CC title. Gettysburg has claimed the conference crown in 10 of the 17 years since the league began using a tournament to decide a champion in 2001.