Gophers Put Away Pesky Crusaders During Final 15 Minutes
TOWSON, Md. — Goucher, which led by as many as four goals earlier in the contest, found itself locked in a 6-6 tie with Susquehanna this afternoon when Pat Brogan scored for the Crusaders with :04 remaining in the third quarter.
Two Goals, One Assist for Lynch in Essential Fourth Quarter
TOWSON, Md. — Goucher, which led by as many as four goals earlier in the contest, found itself locked in a 6-6 tie with Susquehanna this afternoon when Pat Brogan scored for the Crusaders with :04 remaining in the third quarter.
Although momentum had swung to Susquehanna's side by the start of the fourth period, the Gophers clearly dominated the final 15 minutes of play. The defending Landmark Conference champions used a 19-4 advantage in shots to score four unanswered goals and secure a 10-6 victory.
Matt Lynch (Ivyland, Pa./LaSalle College), who scored with :01 showing on the clock to provide the Gophers (7-4, 1-0 Landmark) with a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, snapped the 6-6 tie by sticking an unassisted goal 2:02 into the fourth period. After an unassisted goal by Zach Fratella (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) put Goucher up 8-6 with 8:06 left to play, Lynch had a hand in both of the final two goals of the contest, setting up an extra-man goal by Kyle Boncaro (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) with 7:40 remaining before completing his three-goal, one-assist effort with an unassisted goal.
During the fourth quarter, the Gophers held the upper hand in ground balls, 19-4, and won four of the five faceoffs. Their 19 shots yielded only four goals because goalkeeper Jordan Daney of the Crusaders made 11 saves in the period, hiking his total for the game to 25.
An unassisted goal by Dustin Breakey with 6:35 left to play in the first quarter was all the offense Susquehanna could muster in the first half. The Crusaders (4-3, 0-1 Landmark) trailed 4-1 after 30 minutes and fell further behind when Max Roach (Austin, Texas/Austin) opened the scoring in the second half with a goal for the Gophers.
It took Susquehanna slightly less than five minutes to completely wipe out its four-goal deficit, however, as the Crusaders pulled even at 5-5 on an extra-man goal by Ian Karch midway through the third quarter. The Gophers regained the lead on Fratella's extra-man goal, but Susquehanna answered in the form of Brogan's goal in the final seconds of the period, which created the 6-all tie.
The win was Goucher's sixth in a row since an 11-9 loss to Colorado College on March 12.