Gophers Open Conference Play Against Scranton

BALTIMORE, MD - The Goucher College Gophers (3-6 overall; 0-1 conference) hosted the University of Scranton Royals (3-6 overall; 1-0 conference) in the landmark conference opener Saturday afternoon. Late offense from the Gophers was not able to surpass the lead that Scranton built, leading to a 17-4 loss.

The Gophers opened with possession after Milan Temple won the first faceoff. However, the Royals quickly won the ball back to record multiple shots, forcing Josh Steinmiller to action early. Less than three minutes into the game, Scranton broke through off a failed clear to take the early lead. They added their second just over a minute later, following the faceoff win. Despite multiple shots from the Gophers over the next four minutes, Scranton was able to finish an additional shot to add to their lead. The game remained neutral until the end of the quarter, when the Royals added their fourth to take a 4-0 lead into the second.

The Royals carried the momentum, scoring two goals seconds apart to put them at six (14:28). The teams traded possessions, with Nick Gambone and Jack Murdaugh winning the ball back for the Gophers off caused turnovers. Scranton added back-to-back goals with 8:35 left in the half to bring them to 8-0 over the Gophers. Jacob Morgan broke the scoring drought for Goucher after beating a defender and finishing the shot (5:52). The Royals added two more over the next four minutes, bringing the score to 10-1 at half. 

Scranton added the opening goal a minute into the second half. The teams each recorded multiple shots, and Cole Smith won the ball back for Goucher, which led to a shot on goal from Eli Jean-Jacques. Scranton rallied with a goal four minutes later. Over the next seven minutes, Smith added another caused turnover, while Steinmiller came up with three saves. The final three minutes of the quarter were all Scranton, as they added three goals to bring the score to 15-1 heading into the final quarter.

Goucher opened the fourth with an offensive surge. After winning the opening faceoff, Morgan fed a pass to Kevin Gearhart for the first goal of the final quarter (14:06). The Gophers won the ball back on the faceoff as Jack Schiavone collected the groundball. After a shot from Jean-Jacques, Temple finished the next shot from a Morgan pass. The Royal responded less than a minute later, to score next, to bring the game to 16-3. The game fell scoreless for five minutes, which featured five shots combined. Morgan ended the drought with a goal at 7:56. With less than five minutes left in the game, Scranton called a timeout and proceeded to score right after. Despite seven combined shots from the teams, the final minutes of the game remained scoreless, leading to the final score of 17-4.

Morgan led the team with four points, having a piece in all the goals from the contest (two goals, two assists). Gearhart and Temple each added a point as well. Smith and Morgan led the defense with two caused turnovers each. 

Steinmiller added 60 minutes in net with 16 saves off 33 shots faced, and he also led the team with nine groundballs. Temple and Schiavone followed with four each. On the faceoff, Temple went 5-6, while Sean Phillips went 4-18.

Scranton led the team statistically, outshooting the Gophers 53-28, and grabbed more groundballs (35-25). The Royals went 25-27 on clears, while Goucher went 21-27.

The Gophers are back in action at home on Wednesday, March 25th, against the Cardinals of Catholic University, set to face off at 7pm.