Gophers Prevail 8-6, Defeat Shoremen for First Time

Mishaw Preserves Lead with Five Saves in Fourth Period

CHESTERTOWN, Md. — The five consecutive goals Goucher scored in the second quarter this afternoon provided the Gophers with a lead big enough to withstand a three-goal run by Washington (Md.) covering the fourth period and still emerge with an 8-6 triumph over the Shoremen.

The victory was the first for Goucher in three all-time meetings between the two in-state rivals.

The only two goals the Shoremen (0-1) tallied in the first half were from Bennett Cord and Matt Lewis. Cord opening the scoring by sticking an unassisted goal just 18 seconds into the contest; Lewis put the home team up 2-1 with his goal 17 seconds into the second period.

After Goucher knotted up the score at 2-2 on an unassisted goal by Rory Averett (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock North), neither team scored again until Matt Lynch (Ivyland, Pa./LaSalle College) put the Gophers (3-0) up for the first time with an extra-man goal with 3:38 remaining before halftime.

Before time expired in the first half, however, Goucher was able to tack on three additional goals — the first one by Lynch and the next two by Pierce Ingram (Austin, Texas/Westwood) — to build its lead to 6-2 after 30 minutes.

Kyle Boncaro (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) assisted two of the five goals the Gophers scored in the second period to become only the second player in the history of Goucher's men's lacrosse program with 100 assists in his career. He now trails Dan Flamholz (2004-07), the all-time leader, by three assists.

Neither team scored the remainder of the period after Goucher went ahead 8-3 on another man-up goal by Lynch with 9:45 remaining in the third quarter, but Washington closed to within 8-5 when Jim Cusick and Grant Hughes produced goals 26 second apart in the early stages of the final stanza.

The Shoremen had opportunities to further reduce their deficit, but Connor Mishaw (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine), who went the distance in goal for the Gophers, made five of his 14 saves in the fourth quarter. Four of the five came after the lead was trimmed to three goals and one of those occurred after Hughes scored again with 1:45 remaining to make it an 8-6 game.

Through the first three periods, Goucher outshot Washington, 33-25, but the Shoremen got off 15 shots in the fourth quarter and finished with a slim 40-38 edge.