Gophers Stay Within Goal of Cardinals Until 85'

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Goucher returned to the scene of its gallant performance against Catholic in the semifinals of the 2014 Landmark Conference playoffs today. The Gophers stayed within a goal of the Cardinals until the 85th minute, but suffered a 3-nil setback.

The only goal scored in the first half was by Tyler Zimmerman at 38:01.

The defending Landmark champions didn't add to their 1-nil advantage until Zimmerman scored again at 84:23. With 1:39 remaining, the senior midfielder, who had tallied four goals in Catholic's first 11 games of the season, completed a hat trick to close out the scoring.

The Cardinals (5-6-1, 2-2 Landmark) finished with a 23-7 advantage in shots.

It was Goucher's first game against Catholic since the two teams were still locked in a 1-1 tie after 90 minutes of regulation and a pair of 10-minute overtime periods in the semifinals of last season's conference postseason tournament. The Cardinals went on to win a shootout by edging the Gophers, 7-6, in penalty kicks, to advance to the championship game.

The Gophers (3-7-1, 0-3 Landmark) play a second Landmark Conference game this week. They'll welcome Scranton to Beldon Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.