THE FACTS
No. 18 Denison (4-1) 10, No. 2 Gettysburg (4-1) 9
What: Non-conference men's lacrosse game
When: Saturday, March 18
Where: Granville, Ohio
THE SKINNY STORY
The non-conference matchup was competitive down to the last seconds, with both teams holding multi-goal leads at one point, but ultimately Denison outlasted Gettysburg for a 10-9 victory.
THE LEADERS
•
Ethan Kessler (Ridgefield, Conn./Millbrook School) led the Bullets' offense, with two goals, one assist, and one ground ball.
•
Aidan Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield-Ludlowe) also tallied two goals and one assist.
•
Andy Marquet (Berwyn, Pa/Conestoga) was dominant on defense, with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
FOR THE FOES
• Brooks Crowley scored three goals for the Big Red.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• The beginning of the first quarter saw both teams turn the ball over several times, failing to get going on offense while the defenses battled it out. A Gettysburg penalty gave Denison a man-up opportunity, and Jack Hines converted to put the Big Red on the board. Less than a minute later, Gettysburg's
Stokes Myers (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) answered with a tally of his own to tie it up. Denison tried to get going but goalie
Colin LaForty (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) made a save and the Bullets' defense forced two turnovers to put the ball in the stick of
Ethan Kessler, who dished to
Aidan Wykoff to make it a 2-1 Gettysburg advantage with 6:03 to play in the first. Less than two minutes later, the defense caused another turnover and
George Raymond got the ball to
McCain Wnek (Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover) for a 3-1 lead. Denison brought the game back within one goal with four minutes remaining in the first, but Gettysburg had the last tally of the quarter with nine seconds left, as
Jack Dunleavy (New Providence, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) got it over to
Ryan Cernuto (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) to lead 4-2 heading into the second.
• The second quarter started much like the first, with both teams unable to find the net early on. Several Bullets' shots were stopped by Denison goalie Archer Darrach, and it was Nate Kay of the Big Red that broke the scoring drought with 7:32 left in the half. The teams continued to battle in the next five minutes, with LaForty making five saves and Gettysburg taking one shot. With 1:54 remaining, a Bullets penalty allowed Denison to score on the man-up, tying the game 4-all. Each team registered a shot in the final minute, but neither found the net, sending the teams into the locker room all tied up.
• Gettysburg won the opening faceoff of the second half, but it was Denison who scored early, causing a turnover and clearing the ball for a Clyde Bresnahan goal that gave Denison their first lead since the first quarter. No goals were scored for the next six minutes, though both teams took several shots. Gettysburg finally got a second-half goal with 5:05 showing in the third, with Kessler getting past the goalie to tie the game back up, 5-all. However, Denison regained the lead less than a minute later. With 1:06 remaining in the third, a Gettysburg turnover gave way to a Denison goal, as the Big Red took a two-goal lead. With only 23 seconds left in the third, it became an 8-5 game as Denison found the back of the net one final time in the third quarter.
• Denison notched the largest lead yet with a quick tally less than a minute into the final quarter, making it a 9-5 game. Gettysburg started to rally their offense, as
George Raymond (Darien, Conn./Suffield Academy) scooped up a ground ball and moved to cage for a goal, assisted by Wykoff, to bring the Bullets back within three. Almost five minutes passed before Kessler scored again to make it a 9-7 game, and with 5:40 left in the game, Wykoff made it 9-8. However, a goal by Ethan Tyack of Denison with 1:55 left to play widened the gap once again. With 60 seconds left,
Kyle Howard (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) got past the keeper to make it a one-goal game for the final time, and Howard tried to find the equalizer in the final 21 seconds, but had the shot blocked as the Bullets suffered their first loss of the season, 10-9.
THE INSIDE STORY
• Gettysburg outshot Denison 36-32, but Denison dominated on faceoffs, winning 18 of 23.
• With an assist and goal on the day,
George Raymond tallied his 100th career point. He now sits at 101 career points, with 53 goals and 48 assists.
• In the goal for the Bullets, LaForty made five saves and
Wesley King (Millvalley, Calif./Tamalpais) made two.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action against Catholic on Wednesday. Game time is 3:30 p.m.
