Gophers Climb Out of Early Hole, Top Hood on the Road

FREDERICK, Md. - Visiting Goucher College climbed out of a 5-1 second quarter hole as it downed Hood College 9-8 in non-conference men's lacrosse Wednesday evening at Thomas Athletic Field.  Sophomore Jacob Morgan led the Gophers with three goals and a pair of assists in the win.

• Hood (2-2) scored the game's first four goals and led 4-0 with 2:26 left in the opening quarter.
• The Gophers (2-1) got on the board with 1:24 left in the frame as Morgan scored off a feed from Caelen Young.

• Jay Lanigan upped Hood's lead to 5-1 39 seconds into the second.
• Morgan scored his second goal of the night at the 12:11 mark, followed by a James Dugan tally assisted by Morgan at the 9:19 mark.
• The Blazers scored at the 8:21 mark of the period to reclaim a three-goal lead.
• The Gophers cashed in on two man-up opportunities to cut the lead to 6-5 at halftime.
• Dugan scored a man-up goal at the 7:11 mark.
• Jack McDermott's goal with just under four minutes to play made it 6-5.  Holden Vance assisted on both man-up goals.

• The hosts scored 3:40 into the second half to take a 7-5 lead.
• Goucher scored three times in a span of 3:56 to take an 8-7 lead with 4:40 left in the third.
• Morgan scored off a feed from Dugan at the 8:36 mark, followed by McDermott's second of the night with just under seven minutes on the clock.  Tyler May assisted on the McDermott score.
• At 4:40, Vance scored on a pass from Morgan.

• May scored an unassisted goal with 5:32 on the clock to give Goucher its first two-goal lead of the night, 9-7.
• The Blazers responded with a man-up goal with 4:05 to go.
• Hood won the ensuing faceoff and had five shots the rest of the way.  Goucher goalie Jack Smith made two saves, while another Blazer shot rang off the post.

• Morgan led the Gophers with three goals and two assists.  It marked his seventh career game with at least three goals and extended his goal-scoring streak to 11 games dating back to last season.
• Dugan recorded two goals and an assist, while McDermott finished with a pair of goals.
• Vance added a goal and two assists, while May recorded a goal and an assist.
• Smith made 12 saves, while Calvin Morris and Alex Dudziak combined for eight saves.
• DJ Barnes recorded four caused turnovers for Goucher, while Sean Nolan had two.
• Cole Smith picked up four ground balls, while Nick Gambone had three.
• Hood held a 34-31 shot advantage and cashed in both of its man-up opportunities.  Goucher was 2-3 with the man advantage.
• Goucher is 2-1 to start the season for the first time since 2016.

• Goucher hits the road Saturday, traveling to Lebanon Valley for a 1 pm contest.
• The Gophers open a four-game homestand next Wednesday, March 6, hosting Neumann at 7 pm at Beldon Field.