Commanding First Half Leads Gophers to 19-5 Victory on the Road

BRADFORD, PA - The Goucher College Gophers (3-5 overall) traveled to face the Panthers of Pitt.-Bradford (6-3 overall). A dominant first half left the Gophers with their third win in a row, 19-5.

The defensive efforts for the Gophers began early, with Mason Bowler causing a turnover to put Goucher back in possession. Jack Murdaugh finally broke through following a series of shots over the first few minutes, giving Goucher the 1-0 lead with just under six minutes into the contest. The Panthers attempted to rally, but Josh Steinmiller came up with the quick save. Less than two minutes later, Jacob Morgan beat the goalie, off a feed from Gianni Karam. Morgan and Karam added the next two goals, off the faceoffs won by Mason Wolf, giving Goucher a 4-0 advantage. Milan Temple added the Gophers fifth of the contest (4:09). Aaron Butera followed up by winning the face off, to feed Karam the pass for the next of the contest. Karam added the final goal of the quarter for the Gophers, from Kevin Gearhart to bring the Gophers to seven. A last-second goal for the Panthers brought the game to 7-1 heading into the second.

Karam capitalized on an early penalty for the man-up goal, with Scott Tayman adding the assist. The Panthers rallied, finishing the play from a defensive stop to add their second. Cole Smith got the ball back for Goucher after causing a turnover, leading to a goal from Eli Jean-Jacques. Temple and Morgan accounted for the next three goals, over a two-minute span, to give the Gophers a 10-2 advantage (8:37). After five minutes of back-and-forth play, Karam ended the scoring stalemate with less than four minutes until half. Morgan added back-to-back goals just over a minute apart. Jean-Jacques added the final goal of the half with 1:15 left on the clock for the man-advantage goal. The Gophers held a 14-goal lead at the half.

Murdaugh opened the second half by giving the Gophers possession of a caused turnover. Following multiple saves from the Panthers' goalkeeper, Gearhart broke through off a pass from Morgan to give Goucher the first of the quarter. Karam and Morgan teamed up for the final two goals of the quarter, putting the Gophers up 17 with 6:58 left in the quarter. The remaining minutes saw multiple shots, but both teams' defenses stood strong, bringing the game to 19-2 heading into the fourth. 

Pitt.-Bradford opened the final quarter with a goal less than a minute in. Three minutes later, the Panthers finished on a man-up opportunity, following a 30-second penalty on Goucher. William Muncy saw action for Goucher, entering with 8:06 left on the clock. Despite a caused turnover from Tucker Dashiell, Pitt.-Bradford earned the ball back and ended the scoring of the contest with a goal at 2:07. 

Morgan led the Gophers with 10 points, from six goals and four assists, while Karam followed closely behind with nine points from seven goals and two assists. Four additional goalkeepers added points. Nick Gambone and Bowler led the defensive efforts with two caused turnovers, while Jack Schiavone led the team with five groundballs. 

Steinmiller added 51:54 in net, with five saves off nine shots, and Muncy added the final 8:06, collecting one save. Butera led the faceoff team with 8-10, Wolf went 6-13, and Sean Phillips rounded out the team, going 1-4.

The Gophers held the advantage statistically, outshooting the Panthers 69-25 and grabbing more groundballs (32-16). Goucher went 2-3 on the man advantage, while the Panthers went 1-4. 

The men are back in action on Saturday, March 21st, hosting Scranton, set to begin at 12pm.