CHESTER, Pa. (March 23, 2016) – Senior Tim Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa.) netted a hat trick and freshman goalkeeper Matt Horton (Emmaus, Pa.) registered double-digit saves, but it wasn't enough, as the Widener University men's lacrosse team came up just short against #10-ranked Gettysburg by an 11-8 score on Wednesday evening at Leslie C. Quick Stadium.
 
The Pride got off to a blazing start and scored four unanswered to seize a 4-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. Junior Tyler Schulte (Southampton, N.J.) led the offensive barrage by recording two goals and an assist in a span of 12:34, which included scoring a man-up marker with 5:16 on the clock and finishing a pass from senior captain Marc LaVine (Nashua, N.H.) in the waning seconds.
 
Gettysburg, however, responded by netting five of the next six goals in the second frame. Even though Widener won all seven faceoffs in the quarter, the Bullets were tenacious defensively and caused several turnovers to gain extra possessions on offense before the Pride could set themselves up comfortably on the other end. Ivan Morris scored the equalizer and the go-ahead goal at 2:42 and 1:22, respectively, to give the Bullets a 6-5 edge heading into the break.
 
Widener's Dan McMenamin (North Wales, Pa.) sparked a comeback attempt by tying the game at 7s with an unassisted tally less than one minute into the second half, but Gettysburg (4-2) scored the next two goals and four of the next five to pull away. Blake Gray added an insurance tally with 8:33 remaining to eventually seal the final outcome.
 
Gettysburg used a balanced scoring attack and had eight different players find the back of the net, which included getting two goals apiece from Mike Distler, Jameson Smith and Morris. Chris Palladino caused three turnovers and scooped up five ground balls, while Tim Brady picked up the victory by making one save in net before being relieved with a one-goal lead early in the second half.
 
Tim Taylor led Widener with three goals, converting all of his shots on target, and Kyle Gratz (Worthington, Ohio) tallied two goals and two helpers in a reserve role. Horton, who was making his first career start between the pipes, turned away 16 shots to help keep the Pride in the game.
 
Widener (1-5), which played its third straight game against an opponent which has been nationally-ranked this season, will open up Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth action when it hosts Hood on Saturday, Apr. 2 at 7:00 p.m. The 1996 team, which won the program's first-ever MAC title, is slated to be recognized at halftime.