GETTYSBURG, Pa.—Swarthmore College Men's Lacrosse made its first Centennial Conference postseason appearance on Wednesday afternoon, colliding with the Gettysburg College Bullets, the top seed in the conference and the seventh-ranked team in the nation. The Garnet exhibited a strong performance in the second and third quarters of Wednesday's semifinal game, but the Bullets shot past Swarthmore in the first and fourth periods to take the contest 18-8.

Swarthmore junior Matt Johnson led the Garnet attack with a hat trick, his fifth of the season. Johnson's 30 goals this season are tops on the club.

Five other Garnet players scored in the contest. Seniors Conor Clark, Will Black and Braeden DeWan all scored once as did freshmen Dylan Rittenhouse and Griffin Johnston.

Cole Fox faced a barrage of 43 Gettysburg shots and recorded 13 saves.

The Bullets jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes. DeWan dropped in the Garnet's first goal just after the 12 minute mark. The Bullets then sprung for five straight goals to close out the first period, including two man-up goals.
The Garnet righted the ship in the second quarter, out-scoring the Bullets 3-1 in the period. Johnson led off with a goal assisted by Nathan Relich two minutes in. Gettysburg got its tally nearly 10 minutes later, and then Swarthmore capitalized for two goals in the final 96 seconds. DeWan slung a pass to set up Johnston for the score. Black added his 10th goal of the season with a mid-range strike from the right side with 36 seconds left. The Garnet closed out the half within four, 8-4.

In the third quarter, the Bullets and Garnet traded goals. Johnson scored during an EMO with 8:07 to go, and Dylan Rittenhouse scored on a pass from Cam Marsh with 1:43 to play. Still down four, the Garnet looked to pull closer before the end of the period, but Gettysburg snuck in a goal with just seven seconds left in the quarter.

The Bullets rode the momentum swing into the fourth quarter, scoring the first six goals of the period. Conor Clark sank his first goal of the season with 4:35 to go, and Johnson completed his hat trick with 3:38 left.

The Garnet held a 13-7 faceoff advantage through the first three periods, but the Bullets closed the gap with an 8-for-10 faceoff performance in the fourth. Swarthmore senior Mike Selverian had a game-high 14 faceoff wins.

Swarthmore (10-6) will find out on Monday whether it will receive a bid to the ECAC Tournament.