Karam Leads the Way for Gophers Against Cardinals

BALTIMORE, MD – The Goucher College Gophers (3-7 overall, 0-2 conference) hosted the Cardinals of Catholic University of America (6-4 overall, 2-0 conference) on Wednesday afternoon. Despite a competitive opening quarter, a dominant second period by Catholic propelled the Cardinals to a 16-7 victory.

Catholic struck first with two goals in the opening five minutes, then extended its lead to 3-0 with 8:11 remaining in the first quarter. After several possessions on both ends, Gianni Karam put Goucher on the board, finishing a feed from Jacob Morgan. The Gophers pressed late in the quarter but were unable to convert, trailing 3-1 heading into the second.

Goucher opened the second quarter with a transition goal from Milan Temple to cut the deficit to one. Catholic responded quickly, regaining momentum with three goals over the next several minutes to build a 6-2 advantage. Following the sixth goal, Josh Steinmiller made two key saves to slow the Cardinals' attack, but Catholic added two late goals to take an 8-2 lead into halftime.

The Cardinals carried that momentum into the third quarter, scoring just two minutes in to extend the lead to seven. Karam and Eli Jean-Jacques answered with back-to-back goals for the Gophers, the first coming at the 10:18 mark and the second late in the period. Catholic continued to match Goucher's scoring, while Morgan added a man-up goal with under two minutes remaining. A late Cardinals goal made it 11-5 heading into the fourth.

Catholic opened the final quarter with a goal, but Karam responded just 30 seconds later off an assist from Scott Tayman. The Cardinals answered immediately off the ensuing faceoff and added another goal two minutes later to extend their lead. After a brief scoring drought, Kevin Gearhart broke through with a man-up goal off a pass from Morgan. Catholic closed the game with two late scores to secure the 16-7 win.

Karam led the Gophers with four points, while Morgan added three. Nick Gambone and Steinmiller each recorded four ground balls, with Gambone also tallying a team-high three caused turnovers. In goal, Steinmiller played 52:07 and recorded 21 saves, while James Czarnaski added four saves in 7:53 of action. At the faceoff, Goucher went 3-26, led by Sean Phillips (2-18) and Jack Schiavone (1-4).

The Cardinals held the statistical advantage, outshooting the Gophers 71-30, and grabbed more groundballs, 49-22. Goucher led in man-up opportunities, going 2-2.

The Gophers will travel to Drew on Saturday, March 28, for a 1 p.m. faceoff before returning home on Saturday, April 11 at 1 p.m. to celebrate Senior Day.