GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior goalie Bailey Pilder (Rowayton, Conn./New Canaan) posted 11 saves and nine different players reached the scoring column as top-ranked Gettysburg College cruised into the NCAA Division III Championship quarterfinals with a 14-3 victory over Denison University Saturday afternoon at Clark Field.
 
Gettysburg (19-1) stifled Denison (16-5) defensively as the Big Red managed just 17 shots and tied their lowest goal total of the season. The Bullets will face No. 8 Wesleyan (Conn.) University (16-3) in Sunday's regional championship at 2:30 p.m. The Cardinals took down No. 2 Washington and Lee University (18-3) 13-7 in Saturday's second game at Clark Field.
 
The hosts featured a well-balanced offense with 10 assists on 14 scores and managed to break the team records for both points (531) and assists (194) in a season.
 
Junior Liza Barr (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) continued her impressive campaign by totaling three goals and four assists. Barr broke the program's single-season assist with her second helper of the game and now has 74 on the year. The junior's 124 points this season rate second all-time behind Megan Murphy's '03 140-point campaign in 2003.
 
Junior Maria Nemeth (Westfield, N/.J./Westfield) scored on all three of her shot attempts and sophomore Bri Stokes (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) posted two goals and one assist. Junior Courtney Patterson (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) tallied a goal, two assists, and three draw controls. Senior Steph Colson (Westminster, Md./Manchester Valley) tallied a goal, four ground balls, and a caused turnover.
 
The Bullets wasted no time getting into the scoring column as Stokes took the ball to goal 37 seconds into the contest. Pilder's first save set up the team's second tally as Barr found junior Ella Orzechowski (Elkridge, Md./Howard) with just over 27 minutes left in the first half.
 
Denison's defense held the high-powered Gettysburg attack in check for the next six minutes, but the Big Red offense couldn't find any openings to convert as Pilder racked up two more stops. Following a failed clear by Denison, Nemeth tossed in her first tally to boost the lead to 3-0 less than nine minutes into the contest.
 
Another smothered shot by Pilder once again set up the attack. Barr shattered Gettysburg's single-season assist record with a quick flip to Stokes at 18:44. The junior attacker broke the old mark of 71 set by Julika Blankenship '04 in 2004.
 
Three more Gettysburg goals found the back of the net, including two by Nemeth, before the Big Red stopped the run with a free-position goal by Casey McTague with 6:52 to go in the first half. After an exchange of goals, the Bullets ran off the final two tallies with a free-position goal by Colson putting the score at 10-2 going into the break.
 
The hosts put the running clock into effect just over four minutes into the second half following a goal by Barr that pushed the lead to 12-2. Gettysburg emptied its bench with less than 20 minutes to play and the reserves continued to hold the double-figure lead. Freshman Maddi Seibel (Newtown, Pa./Pennington School) scored with 18:15 left to make it 13-2.
 
After more than 24 minutes Denison finally broke the second-half shutout with a goal by Virginia Hamilton. Sophomore Laura Winters (Wynnewood, Pa./Haverford) polished off the scoring with free-position goal at 2:53.
 
Gettysburg finished with the lead in shots (28-17), ground balls (19-18), and draw controls (11-8).
 
The Bullets head into the regional final for the third consecutive season. The team has won each of the last two matchups on its home turf, beating Salisbury University 10-2 in 2017 and Amherst College 13-10 in 2018. Gettysburg is bidding for its eighth appearance in the national semifinals since 2006.
 
Another NESCAC school awaits Gettysburg on Sunday in Wesleyan. The Cardinals head to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
 
Wesleyan opened the second regional semifinal with the first three goals, but the Generals refused to bow, cutting the deficit down to one six times in the  contest. After Washington and Lee pulled to 8-7 on a goal by Haley Tucker with 10:57, Wesleyan came up with a crucial caused turnover as Amy Breitfeller drew a charge on the potential game-tying goal by Dani Murray with 10:21 to play. The play set the Cardinals up for a 5-0 run to end the game.
 
Goalie Allegra Grant turned in a sterling performance for Wesleyan with 11 saves. Kat Cucullo posted three goals and Abby Manning recorded two goals and two assists. Breitfeller finished with a pair of caused turnovers and four ground balls.
 
Tucker and Murray each finished with two goals for W&L. Goalie Elliot Gilbert posted seven saves.
 
Gettysburg has only faced Wesleyan once prior to tomorrow's contest. The Bullets beat the Cardinals 12-8 over spring break in 2009.