Gettysburg, Pa. - Senior Kieran Ward (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) scored the game-winning goal with just 10 seconds left in regulation to send No. 18 Gettysburg College to the Centennial Conference men's lacrosse championship game with a thrilling 12-11 victory over Muhlenberg College in a semifinal matchup on Wednesday at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
 
Second-seeded Gettysburg (12-6) will travel to top-seeded and seventh-ranked Dickinson College (17-0) on Saturday for the Centennial Conference title with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Red Devils rallied in the fourth quarter to edge Ursinus College in Wednesday's other semifinal, 13-12.
 
Ward's game-winning goal came after the third-seeded Mules (9-6), who are receiving votes in the latest USILA Top-20 poll, scored three straight goals to tie the game at 11-11 with just under two and half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
Muhlenberg won the ensuing face-off, but senior goalkeeper Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) came up with a huge save to keep the game level with a minute and a half left. Gettysburg retained possession and called a timeout.
 
When play resumed, junior Kyle Howard (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) rang a shot of the pipe, but sophomore Quinton Mather (Avon, Conn./Avon Old Farm) was there to collect the groundball off the rebound. Gettysburg regrouped, and senior Griffin Gallagher (Ardmore, Pa./Shipley School) fed Ward for the decisive goal.
 
Junior Jonathan Moshe (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl L Vandermeulen) won the face-off that followed, with freshman Frank Barbera (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) corralling the groundball to seal the win.
 
Neither team held a lead greater than one goal of the first two and a half quarters of Wednesday's playoff showdown, a run of 37:48 that featured five lead changes. 
 
The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the first quarter before the Mules took a 7-6 edge into halftime after scoring two seconds before the break.
 
Gettysburg scored the first three goals of the third quarter and held a 9-8 edge heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation. The Bullets then netted the first two markers of the fourth stanza to open up an 11-8 advantage with 11:01 remaining, but Muhlenberg countered with the next three goals to knot up the contest at the 2:23 mark to set the stage for Ward's heroics.
 
Junior George Raymond (Darien, Conn./Suffield Academy) scored four goals to pace Gettysburg's attack in the win, while Mather and senior Spencer Knife (Venice, Calif./Winston Churchill) also registered four points on two goals and two assists apiece.
 
Junior Aidan Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) netted a pair of goals for the Bullets, while Ward and Howard also added multi-point efforts with a goal and an assist apiece.
 
MacMillan finished the afternoon with a game-high 12 saves to post his 12th victory of the spring and the 30th win of his career.
 
Moshe won a game-high 14 face-offs and collected a team-leading five groundballs, while junior Declan Harrigan (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck) collected four groundballs and a caused turnovers to lead the Bullets' defense.
 
Much like the regular-season meeting between the two squads, which Gettysburg won 5-3, Wednesday's semifinal matchup was a statistically even affair. Both teams took 42 shots while the Bullets held a 34-29 edge in groundballs and a 14-11 advantage in face-off wins.
 
Gettysburg was a perfect 16-for-16 on clear attempts, was 1-for-3 on extra-man opportunities, and committed 12 turnovers.
 
Muhlenberg went 14-for-16 on clears and 2-for-4 on man-up chances while giving the ball away nine times.
 
The Bullets be making their sixth consecutive appearance in the Centennial Conference championship game. Gettysburg has played in every title contest held since 2015 and is seeking its 11th conference title and first since 2016. No postseason tournament was held during the abbreviated 2020 and 2021 seasons.
 
The start time of Saturday's championship tilt at Dickinson is set for 1:00 p.m.