Gettysburg College Athletics

OPENING FACEOFF: Tonight's Centennial Conference (CC) opener marks the 35th all-time meeting between No. 8 Gettysburg (4-2, 0-0 CC) and No. 12 Swarthmore (7-1, 0-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1983. The Bullets lead the all-time series 28-6 but the Garnet has won five of the last eight meetings.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Gettysburg jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then withstood a late flurry form fourth-ranked Swarthmore to notch a 13-12 win in one of the two Centennial Conference semifinals last season. Quinton Mather led the Bullets with three goals and an assist. Chase Morgan made 15 saves on the night, including one in the final 10 seconds to keep the one-goal lead. Michael Hardiman led the Garnet with four goals. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

LAST TIME OUT: Gettysburg, ranked eighth, scored the first four goals of the game to set an early pace and defeat Hamilton 10-6 on the second day of the Callum Robinson Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson on Saturday. Jack Dunleavy led the Bullets with two goals and an assist. Miles Balachandran paced the defense with four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Will Heher led the Continentals with two goals and a helper. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

NO. 8 WITH A BULLET: Gettysburg remained at No. 8 the latest USILA Div. III coaches' poll after splitting a pair of games at the Mustang Classic last weekend. 

POLL POSITION: The Bullets open Centennial Conference play off a run to the conference championship game last season. Gettysburg was chosen second in the annual preseason poll with 55 points and received two first-place votes. Three-time defending champion Dickinson was picked as the favorite with 63 points and the other seven first-place tallies. Swarthmore was picked third with 49 points.

AMONG THE RANKS: Last Saturday's game with Hamilton was the only non-ranked team on Gettysburg's schedule through the first seven contests. Swarthmore becomes the sixth ranked opponent for the Bullets and the fourth ranked inside the top 12 at the time of the meeting.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 11 Swarthmore bounced back with a dominant 20-3 victory at Arcadia on Saturday. Michael Hardiman tallied seven points on six goals and one assist to lead the Garnet attack. Clay Almgren added two goals and three assists while Danny Lowe recorded a hat trick with three scores. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

KEEPING IT NOT SO CLOSE: Swarthmore's average margin of victory in its seven wins this season has been 11.4 goals per game. Five games have finished with a double-digit margin of victory and none of the seven wins have been closer than seven goals. The only close game the Garnet has played this season was an 11-10 overtime loss at York on Mar. 12. The Swarthmore attack is averaging 17.4 goals per game. Clay Almgren and Michael Hardiman have both registered 30 or more points this season. Almgren has 19 goals and a team-high 26 assists while Hardiman leads the way with 27 goals and is second with 32 points.