GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg continued to vex the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team, dealing the Bears an 11-6 setback in a matchup of nationally ranked powers at the Battlefield.
Ninth-ranked Gettysburg (9-2, 5-0) led wire to wire in a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference championship game – and a potential preview of this year's. Paul Werner finished with three goals and Reed Barbe posted a goal and three assists for the Bullets, who defeated Ursinus three times by a total of four goals a year ago, including one-goal thrillers in the league title game and the NCAA Tournament second round.
The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for the Bears, the longest in program history.
Ursinus (10-2, 4-1), ranked 16th in Division III, hoped to avenge last season's heartbreak but fell behind less than three minutes in and never quite recovered as Gettysburg remained unbeaten in 16 all-time meetings. Senior Tucker Noel potted a pair of goals for the Bears, who scored 30 seconds apart to slice a 6-2 deficit in half late in the third quarter. But the Bullets scored twice in 20 seconds early in the fourth and never looked back, gaining a major leg up in their quest to capture a second consecutive regular-season title.
Trailing 2-0 late in the first, freshman Peter DeSimone got the Bears on the board with 2:07 to play in the period, but goals by Blake Gray and Andrew Garstka swelled the margin to 4-1 five minutes into the second. Noel's unassisted strike at the 8:36 mark cut it to 4-2 at the break.
After a man-up missile by Mike Distler and a succeeding marker by Gray, Ursinus found itself in a four-goal hole. But the Bears retaliated in a flash, seniors Logan Panaccione and Noel plugging the back of the cage a half-minute apart to switch the momentum.
Once the fourth quarter hit, Gettysburg made sure Ursinus got no closer. Werner finished a feed from Barbe at 12:28, and Barbe scored himself only 20 seconds later to help the Bullets double up the visitors again. Werner's unassisted tally stretched the advantage to 9-4 with just over four minutes left, effectively ending the Bears' hopes.
Gray, Distler, and Garstka each netted two goals for Gettysburg, which held slim advantages in shots (38-32) and ground balls (26-22). The Bullets received a stellar performance between the pipes from Tim Brady, who made 14 saves to counteract Ursinus' firepower.
Senior G.B. Harkins had three ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers for the Bears, who won 11 of 19 faceoffs behind classmate James Fairchild. Freshman Sam Isola and sophomore Ian Desenberg scored, and Panaccione's goal put him one point away from 100 for his career.
Senior Brian Neff registered seven saves.
The men's lacrosse team looks to bounce back on Saturday, April 23 at Muhlenberg.