GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Head Coach Peter Toner eased into his coaching career at Gettysburg College with a dominating 16-4 victory over Eastern University in the season opener at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
Final Result

Teams	1	2	3	4	F
Eastern (0-1)	1	0	1	2	4
#16 Gettysburg (1-0)	6	2	5	3	16

 
Gettysburg's Top Performers

• Kieran Ward '22 (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep): 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 5 Ground Balls
• Brady McGovern '24 (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum School): 3 goals
• Kyle Howard '23 (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery): 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 2 Ground Balls
• George Raymond '23 (Darien, Conn./Suffield Academy): 1 Goal, 4 Assists
• Spencer Knife '22 (Venice, Calif./Winston Churchill): 1 Goal, 5 Assists
• Andy Marquet '25 (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga): 3 Ground Balls, 3 Caused Turnovers
• Michael Zima '23 (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge): 4 GB, 2 Caused Turnvoers, Assist
• Scott MacMillan '22 (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga): 9 Saves

 
Eastern's Top Performers

• Nicholas Fanelli: 2 Goals
• Avery Porter: 2 Assists
• Ethan Myers: 14 Saves, 4 Ground Balls, 2 Caused Turnovers
• Patrick McClain: 8 Ground Balls, 12-19 Face-Offs

 
How It Happened…

• First Quarter
  • Eastern attempted the first shot on goal and MacMillan, making his first start in goal in almost two years, stopped Nick Litzenberger cold. The Bullets came right back with Knife feeding McGovern for the first goal of the season at 12:49. Just 33 seconds later, McGovern connected again off a feed by junior Zack Kinsella (Annapolis, Md./Severn School).
  • The Eagles only managed one more shot on goal against Gettysburg's swarming defense and Kyle Mulrane hit the nylon to make it 3-1 at 8:44. The Bullets would mount a 9-0 run into the third quarter with Knife and Raymond contributing to all but one of those tallies. An unassisted goal by Knife gave the hosts a 6-1 lead at the end of the opening period.  
• Second Quarter
  • Freshman Jack Dunleavy (New Providence, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) connected off a feed from Raymond just 50 seconds into the second quarter. A goal by Howard pushed the lead to 8-1 with 5:37 left in the half.
  • MacMillan came up with a pair of saves on back-to-back possessions. The second stop occurred with Gettysburg a man-down with just under three minutes left.
• Third Quarter
  • Knife dished out assists on goals by Howard and Raymond, while Raymond found Ward in front of the net as the Bullets jumped out to an 11-1 lead at 8:22.
  • Gettysburg's defense held Eastern to just two shot attempts in the third quarter. MacMillan recorded his only save of the period on a shot by Mulrane with 6:38.  
  • McGovern and Ward completed their hat tricks in the final minutes of the third period to give the Bullets a 13-2 lead.
• Fourth Quarter
  • A pair of Bullets scored their first career goals in the final period. Freshman Charlie Crean (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) scored off a feed from defensive midfielder Michael Zima (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) at 11:45. Sophomore William Newsome (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian) assisted on the next goal before hitting the back of the net for his first collegiate goal on a nice transition series during a man-down situation with 5:28 to go.
  • Eastern tested the goal more often in the final 15 minutes, but MacMillan and senior Jonah Scher (Chevy Chase, Md./The Bullis School) combined for six saves.

 
By the Numbers

• Gettysburg led in shots (47-27) and ground balls (42-25), while Eastern won 13-of-23 face-offs. The Eagles committed 29 turnovers in the game.
• The Bullets won their season-opener for the 17th consecutive season. The team's last loss in the opening game of the year was a 9-8 setback to Washington and Lee University in 2005. Gettysburg has won 11 consecutive home openers.
• Coach Toner picked up his first win at the helm of the Orange and Blue and joins former head coach Hank Janczyk with the distinction of being the only Gettysburg coaches since 1969 to win their debuts. Janczyk won his first game at the helm against Ithaca College on March 12, 1988.
• Knife's five assists set a new school standard for assists in a season opener. The senior midfielder, who transferred from Towson University in 2020, was making just his second appearance in orange and blue. He appeared in one game in 2020 before suffering a season-ending injury and did not compete on the field due the pandemic in 2021.

 
Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg improved to 9-0 all-time against Eastern. The 12-goal margin was the biggest in the series since a 21-4 decision in 2014.
 
Next
Gettysburg hosts Goucher College on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 3:30 p.m.