Fourth-Ranked Gettysburg Holds off No. 16 Catholic

WASHINGTON, D.C – No. 16 Catholic gave fourth-ranked Gettysburg all it could handle in a non-conference battle on Wednesday night, but the Bullets won the final draw and held on for a 14-12 victory.

Senior Hannah Church (Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales) and junior Lindsey Robinson (Potomac, Md./Holton-Arms) led Gettysburg (11-1) with three goals, the latter adding an assist as well. Freshman Bridget Kenny (Gladstone, N.J./Bernards) posted a career-high five points on two goals and three assists, while sophomores Katie Blumenthal (Malvern, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame) and Kelsey Markiewicz (Salisbury, Conn./Berkshire School (Mass.)) each tallied two goals and two assists.

Catholic (7-5) turned in the game's first goal and led 2-1 after Mary Robinson tickled the twine at 25:35. Gettysburg came back with an eight-goal run as Robinson had a hand in four goals. Church gave the visitors a 9-2 lead with a free-position goal at 5:46.

The Cardinals came storming back thanks to a dominating effort on the draw. Catholic won each of the next six draw controls and turned each possession into a goal. Mary Swarthout posted each of the first three goals, including the first just six seconds after Church's score. Meghan Brady's second goal of the streak sliced Gettysburg's lead to 9-8 with 1:43 remaining before the half.

The Bullets halted the run as sophomore Bailey Beardsley (Union Bridge, Md./Francis Scott Key) scored with 19 ticks on the clock. Kenny added the final tally off a pass from Markiewicz with only two seconds left to set the score at 11-8 entering the break.

Gettysburg scored three of the first five goals of the final stanza to grab a 14-10 advantage with 12:18 to play. Mary Robinson followed up a save on the defensive end by cutting the lead to three (14-11) with her second goal of the game at 10:41.

Both defenses held firm over the next 10 minutes, producing the game's longest scoring drought. Senior Maddie Coleman (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) made a pair of saves for the Bullets, the last with 2:37 to play.

Catholic capitalized on a late Gettysburg turnover as Lindsay Brophy scored to cut the lead to 14-12 with 1:11 left. Despite being out-performed on the draw throughout the game, the Bullets grabbed the final draw control and ran out the remaining time.

Catholic out-shot Gettysburg 37-29 and held a 17-11 edge in draw controls.

Coleman finished with 11 saves and four ground balls, while junior Alex Casey (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) logged four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Swarthout finished with four goals and seven draw controls for Catholic, while Brady, Robinson, and Brophy each tallied a pair of goals. Yasmeen Ajdari allowed only three goals and made seven saves in the final period of play.

Gettysburg resumes its Centennial Conference schedule with a visit to Washington College on Saturday, April 14, at 4:00 p.m.

2012-04-11