Gophers Take Down Rangers for Eighth Straight Time

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher kept Drew off the scoreboard in this afternoon's Landmark Conference contest until midway through the second quarter as the Gophers extended their winning streak against the Rangers to eight games with a 10-4 victory.

An even-strength goal by Dave Waligurski (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) accounted for all of the scoring in the first quarter until Sam Morgan (Wilmot, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) stuck his team-leading 18th goal of the season with :08.1 showing on the clock to put the home team up 2-0.

Goucher's lead grew to 3-0 just 17 seconds into the second quarter thanks to an unassisted goal by Michael Morgan (Austin, Texas/Westwood). The junior midfielder added a second goal later in the period, just 10 seconds after Hutch Fisher tallied Drew's first goal of the contest.

By the end of the first half, the Gophers (7-3, 2-1 Landmark) were up 6-1. Jake Ziegler (Buffalo, N.Y./Nichols School) put them ahead 5-1 with an unassisted goal at 5:03 and then Leo Sementilli (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) made the Rangers (1-6, 0-3 Landmark) pay for a one-minute slashing penalty with an extra-man goal at 1:55.

After Drew closed to within 6-3 in the third quarter, the Rangers committed another slashing penalty and the goal Gavin Wilson (Charlestown, Pa./Great Valley) scored during the one-minute extra-man opportunity allowed Goucher to enter the fourth period ahead 7-3.

Starting with another man-up goal by Wilson and finishing with unassisted goals by Ruel Ellis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and Michael Bulnes (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus), the Gophers outscored the Rangers, 3-1, during the final 15 minutes of play.

Drew held its first six opponents this season to four goals on 26 extra-man opportunities, but Goucher cashed in on all three of its man-up situations today. In addition, the Gophers successfully killed off all four of their time-served penalties.

Goucher, which hasn't lost to Drew since the Rangers defeated the Gophers, 8-5, in the finals of the 2008 Landmark Conference postseason tournament, now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 11-4.

With the win, head coach Brian Kelly's squad, which started the day as one of six teams tied for second place in the Landmark Conference with 1-1 records, now shares the No. 2 position in the standings with only Scranton (2-1) and Susquehanna (2-1).

The Gophers will have a chance to further reduce the logjam near the top of the standings when they take on the Crusaders on Friday, April 3, in Gopher Stadium. The opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m.