Clinched: Second Quarter Surge Propels Men’s Lacrosse to Convincing 13-6 Win over Moravian on Senior Day

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Going into the day knowing that they needed a victory to clinch a bid into the Landmark Conference playoffs for the first time in four years, the Goucher College men's lacrosse team left no doubt on Saturday against Moravian, rolling past the visiting Greyhounds, 13-6, in front of an overflow crowd at Beldon Field.

With the win, Goucher ends the 2018 regular season with a 10-6 overall mark, 4-2 in the Landmark Conference. The victory clinched the number three seed for the Gophers in the Landmark playoffs, which will begin for Goucher on Wednesday at second-seeded Elizabethtown beginning at 4 p.m.

Moravian ends the year with a 7-7 mark, 2-4 in the Landmark with the defeat.

After honoring 13 seniors before the opening faceoff, the Gophers quickly opened a 2-1 lead on Moravian on a pair of goals by senior Jaryd Hartzell (Nazareth, Pa.) and junior Mason Gorman (Boise, Idaho) in the first five minutes of action.

The final goal of the quarter was notched by senior Pierce Bailey (Miami, Fla.) scored on a man-up opportunity with 3:37 left in the period, putting Goucher up, 3-1, after the first 15 minutes.

In the second quarter, the goals kept coming for Goucher, as they tallied six unanswered (eight unanswered total) to take what turned out to be an insurmountable 9-1 lead with 7:24 to go in the first half.

In the barrage, sophomore Andrew Sade (Lewisberry, Pa.) scored three times, while Gorman, and juniors Zephan Harnish (Woodsboro, Md.) and Grant Lasorda (Collegeville, Pa.) also scored goals.

After Moravian scored their second goal, Sade scored again to put Goucher up 10-2 3:21 left. Moravian was able to get the final goal of the half, but it did little to damper Goucher's spirits, as they went into the break up by seven goals at 10-3.

The third quarter only saw one goal scored by Moravian to make it a 10-4 match heading into the fourth, where Goucher scored three times to put the game on ice at 13-4. Bailey, Lasorda, and senior Derek Bitzer (Doylestown, Pa.) tallied goals for the Gophers to start the period.

Moravian was able to tally the final two goals of the day, but it was too little, too late, as the Gophers rolled to a seven-goal victory to send them back to the Landmark Conference playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Overall, Sade poured in four goals on the day, marking the second straight match in which he has tallied four goals. Goucher's other multiple goal scorers on the day were Gorman and Lasorda, who scored two goals, apiece.

Elsewhere, sophomore Matt Woodson (Timonium, Md.) had three assists, while Bitzer and Gorman each had one assist, apiece. In the face-off circle, Goucher was dominant in the win, as sophomore Nick Patterson (East Lansing, Mich.) won 17 faceoffs (on 21 attempts), collecting nine ground balls on the afternoon.

On the defensive end, senior Logan Winn (Pleasanton, Calif.) and sophomore Mick Togo (Wilmington, Del.) had four caused turnovers, apiece, while in net, senior Matt Messerle (Limerick, Pa.) ended his regular season with six saves.

Goucher will now turn their attention to Wednesday's Landmark Conference Semifinals at Elizabethtown, as the Gophers will look to exact some revenge in the match. On March 31, E-Town was able to pull out a 9-8 win in overtime over Goucher.

More information on the match will be posted at athletics.goucher.edu throughout the week on the Landmark Conference playoffs as it becomes available.

--GOPHERS--