Gophers Lengthen Streak vs. Rangers to Nine Games

TOWSON, Md. —Goucher brought down the curtain on its 2016 campaign on a successful note today, pinning a 12-9 setback on Drew in front of 318 fans on Beldon Field.

While the victory wasn't enough to get the Gophers into the upcoming Landmark Conference championship tournament, it did extend their winning streak against the Rangers to nine games and increase their advantage in the all-time series between the two rivals to 12-4.

• Thanks to a pair of goals by senior midfielder Conner Annunziato (West Chester, Pa./Bayerd Rustin) and one by sophomore midfielder Pierce Bailey (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep), the Gophers (9-6, 1-5 Landmark) owned a 3-0 lead after one period. Annunziato and Bailey each added one more goal to the home team's total in the fourth quarter.
  

• Mason Gorman (Boise, Idaho/Eagle) put Goucher ahead to stay when he scored 1:31 into the third quarter to snap a 4-4 tie. The freshman midfielder's goal was set up by senior attackman Owen Demmerly (Medford, N.J./Shawnee), who turned in a two-goal, four-assist performance and finished with career-high totals of eight ground balls and three caused turnovers.
  

• Matt Messerle (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford), who went the distance in goal for Goucher, made his 10th and final save of the contest on a point-blank shot by Drew's Seth Mansfield with :58 remaining, preventing the Rangers (2-13, 0-6 Landmark) from making it a one-goal game. In his first year as the starting goalkeeper, the sophomore produced a 7.95 goals-against average.
  

• Michael Morgan (Austin, Texas/Westwood) contributed two goals to the victory, including an extra-man tally that provided the Gophers with a 4-2 lead in the second quarter. The senior midfielder began the day with only one fewer man-up goal this season than the three Division III players who were co-national leaders in that category.
  

• Sixteen of the 20 caused turnovers Goucher was credited with were by one of the 12 seniors who were recognized prior to the game. The team leader was senior defenseman Nathan Cain (Wilmette, Ill./Western Reserve Academy) with five.