Morgan Notches Six Points Against McDaniel

BALTIMORE, MD - The Goucher College men's lacrosse team (0-2 overall) hosted the Green Terror of McDaniel College (2-1 overall) on Beldon Field Saturday afternoon. Despite a late rally from the Gophers, McDaniel scored the final two goals to hold the 13-10 win.

The Gophers offense opened the game, with Aaron Butera winning the opening faceoff, which led to two shots. Following a turnover, McDaniel's offense rallied, forcing two saves out of Josh Steinmiller. Just over five minutes into the competition, Jacob Morgan broke through with the opening goal (9:37). The Green Terror responded 30 seconds later, capitalizing on a faceoff win to even the score. The contest remained tightly contested over the next five minutes before McDaniel used a timeout to regroup. The Green Terror came out of the break with momentum, scoring twice in one minute to take a 3-1 lead into the second quarter. Goucher generated four shots in the closing minutes of the frame, including two during a man-up opportunity, but the McDaniel defense held firm.

Goucher opened the second with the win on the faceoff, and Milan Temple added two early shots. Despite the early momentum, McDaniel earned possession and added another goal to their lead. Minutes later, Temple added the Gopher's second following the restart of play. The game then fell into an eight-minute scoring drought, featuring six combined shots, before McDaniel broke through to bring their advantage back to three (2:30). The Green Terror kept their foot on the gas, adding another goal in the final seconds of the half, to bring the score to 6-2. 

To open the second half, Butera gave the Gophers the advantage after winning the faceoff once again. This quickly led to the goal by Eli Jean-Jacques off a feed from Morgan, just 36 seconds in. However, McDaniel's offense rallied over the next four minutes, adding two goals to their total. Goucher capitalized on a McDaniel turnover when Kevin Gearhart found the back of the net off a pass from Jean-Jacques. Seconds later, the Gophers capitalized again with Temple finishing a shot from Morgan, bringing the score to 8-5 with 7:35 left in the third. The Green Terror earned possession of a ground ball, which led to a finish for them a minute and a half later. The final goal of the third came from Morgan (3:49), to bring the Gophers within three heading into the final quarter. 

McDaniel opened the fourth with a goal following the won faceoff. Jake Kerns picked up the groundball off a failed clear for the Green Terror, which led to Gianni Karam finding the back of the net off a feed from Morgan. Just over a minute later, Karam added his second of the contest from Jean-Jacques, bringing the game to 10-8. A saved shot led to a transition play a minute later for the Green Terror, to give them their 11th goal. Morgan added his third of the game following a turnover from McDaniel, to keep the Gophers within two. McDaniel went on the offensive, but a key save from Steinmiller gave the Gophers the advantage on the transition. Gearhart added his second of the season off a pass from Temple. The final two goals came from McDaniel in the span of two minutes, bringing the final score to 13-10.

Morgan led the team with six points off three goals and three assists. Temple and Jean-Jacques followed closely behind with three-point performances each. Three Gophers each had a caused turnover, including Nick Campagnari. Butera went 14-22 at the faceoff, leading the team with nine groundballs as well, while Mason Wolf went 1-4. Steinmiller recorded all 60 minutes in the net, adding nine saves to his total.

Goucher outshot the Green Terror 43-33, while going 15-16 on clears, while McDaniel went 21-23. McDaniel held the slight edge, grabbing 24 groundballs compared to the Gophers 22. 

The Gophers travel to face Hood for the next contest on Wednesday, Feb. 25th, with the opening faceoff set for 6pm.