Final Four-Bound Bullets Take Out TCNJ
from press release
EWING, N.J. - For the third time in four
seasons, the Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team claimed a
spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals as the Bullets
took down host The College of New Jersey 10-9 in the regional final
Saturday afternoon. Junior goalie Kristen Krammer (Woodbine,
Md./Glenelg) made a pair of saves in the final 1:10 and Gettysburg
survived a last-second shot by the Lions' leading scorer to claim
the victory.
Gettysburg (16-3) advances to the semifinals on Saturday, May 16,
at Roanoke College's Donald J. Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va. The
Bullets will face top-ranked Salisbury University (19-1) in
Saturday's first contest at 5 p.m. The second semifinal will pit
the last two Division III champions against each other as Franklin
& Marshall College (19-1) will meet Hamilton College (16-2) in
a rematch of last season's championship game at 8 p.m. The two
semifinal winners will then take the field at Kerr Stadium on
Sunday, May 17, for the national title at 3 p.m.
(Highstown, N.J./Peddie School) and sophomores Krammer made a
game-high 10 saves to lead the Bullets, including six in the
crucial second half. Gettysburg's offense was led by juniors Nina
Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) and Hollis StahlAllegra Formento
(Princeton, N.J./Princeton) and Heidi Bitter (Darien,
Conn./Westminster) who each produced a pair of goals.
The rematch of an 11-10 decision won by TCNJ (16-3) earlier this
spring proved every bit as good as the first contest as the two
teams posted six ties in Saturday's semifinal. The last tie
occurred at 9:39 when Kathleen Notos scored on a free position
attempt to pull the Lions even at 8-8. Amazingly, in the team's
first meeting this spring, it was Gettysburg who tied the game on
the same type of goal at nearly the same exact moment, only to have
TCNJ score back-to-back goals to come out on top.
In a twist of fate, Saturday's game was decided in the same manner
as the first, only this time things worked out for the Orange &
Blue. Junior Lexie Hearn (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) gave the
lead back to the Bullets with an unassisted score at 6:34 and
Bitter followed just under the five-minute mark with a free
position goal to lift the advantage to 10-8.
TCNJ sliced the deficit in half as Notos threw in a score at 4:04.
The Lions procured the ensuing draw control and attempted to tie
the game, but a shot by Lisa Seldeen sailed high of the mark and a
free position attempt was stopped before a shot got off as Stahl
knocked the ball away from Alison Jaeger. Gettysburg was able to
clear the ball up the field and burn some time off the clock.
Down to their final minutes, the hosts put the pressure on and
eventually regained possession of the ball with 1:32 remaining. The
Lions had back-to-back looks at the goal, but Krammer stepped up to
the plate and turned away shots by Notos and Katie Reuther to
preserve the advantage. After an exchange of turnovers, TCNJ had
one last chance to tie the game and put the ball in the hands of
Jaeger, who already lit the lamp four times in the contest. The
Bullets defense was able to close ranks and keep Jaeger from a
quality look as her shot sailed wide.
To start the game, the teams exchanged goals before Stahl and
Emala put in back-to-back tallies, both assisted by sophomore
Marnie Commins (Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson), to lift Gettysburg
to a 3-1 lead at 18:02. Jaeger and Stahl exchanged goals to
maintain the margin down to almost the 10-minute mark. At that
point, TCNJ received back-to-back goals from Jaeger and Seldeen to
force a 4-4 tie.
The first period ended with a 5-5 tie as freshman Hanna Church
(Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales) and Sara Keating each put in
tallies for Gettysburg and TCNJ, respectively.
Formento began the second half with a free position goal to break
the deadlock, but Jaeger had a two-goal answer, staking the Lions
to their first lead of the contest 7-6 with 21:20 on the clock.
Formento and Bitter came right back with back-to-back free position
goals to put the Bullets back in front 8-7 and set the stage for
the final 10 minutes of play.
TCNJ held slight advantages in shots (26-24) and draw controls
(11-10), while Gettysburg led ground balls (10-7) and saves (10-8).
The Bullets also committed four more turnovers than the Lions
(13-9).
Krammer led Gettysburg with five ground balls and Stahl added two
ground balls, two draw controls, and a caused turnover. Hearn
posted a goal, an assist, and two draw controls. Junior Anna
Scanlan (Lutherville, Md./Roland Park Country School) logged a pair
of caused turnovers to lead the defense.
Jaeger finished with four goals on nine shots for TCNJ. Notos
posted two goals and one helper and Seldeen tallied a pair of
scores and four draw controls. Mary Waller made eight saves in the
Lions' cage.
