Wesleyan is back to the Division III final four for the second straight season and fourth overall, and it made it there in thrilling fashion. Taylor Ghesquiere scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds left to down Tufts 12-11 — the Cardinals’ first win over their NESCAC foe in three tries this season.
Ghesquiere finished with five goals on the game and teammate Ronan Jacoby added four to help Wesleyan advance to meet top seed RIT in the final four.
Jacoby had a hat trick in the first half, helping Wesleyan jump out to an early 6-3 lead. Nick Shanks matched that for Tufts in the half, helping the Jumbos cut the deficit to 7-5 before the break. Despite leading the faceoff battle 9-5 and outshooting Wesleyan 24-19, Tufts found itself in a two-goal hole.
Down 9-6 in the third quarter, the Jumbos caught fire in the form of a four-goal run. Ben Connelly scored twice, and Tufts took a 10-9 lead with 13:38 remaining. The lead didn't last long, as Ghesquiere and Harry Stanton scored man-up goals to make it 11-10 in favor of Wesleyan with 10 minutes left.
Connelly tied the game with another goal with 1:44 left. Wesleyan won the ensuing faceoff and held for Ghesquiere’s game-winning shot.
RIT Advances
RIT continued its undefeated season, dominating a third straight NCAA tournament opponent to move on to the final four. Kyle Killen chipped in five goals and an assist to help the Tigers down York 12-7 for their second straight semifinal appearance.
It didn’t take long for RIT to assert itself against a strong York team, scoring the first six goals and hold the Spartans scoreless for the entire first quarter. Killen had three of his goals in the quarter that put the Tigers ahead for good. York cut the deficit to 7-2 by halftime on goals by Jake Hvazda and Hunter Davis.
The Spartans continued to rally in the second half, scoring three straight goals to cut the deficit to 9-6. Killen and Aidan Milburn answered with goals for RIT to put the game out of reach with under 10 minutes left.
RIT outshot York 43-21 and won the ground ball battle 31-15.
Salisbury Keeps Rolling
The two-time defending Division III national champions are heading back to the final four. Salisbury, which sat at 6-3 on March 24, has rallied off 13 straight wins and finished off Dickinson 9-7 on Wednesday night to move within two games of a 3-peat.
Eight different players scored for the Seagulls, with Austin Shot chipping in the only multi-goal game.
Salisbury made its presence known early, scoring five of six goals in the first half. Dickinson turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and was outshot 20-10 as a result.
The Red Devils scored three out of four to pull within 6-4 in the third quarter, but three more Seagulls scored to move the score to 9-4 with 11:15 left in the game.
Dickinson mounted a comeback in the final minutes, scoring three straight goals to cut the deficit to 9-7 with 2:55 left. However, the Red Devils couldn't find another goal in the waning seconds to seal the Salisbury victory.
Gettysburg Stifles Ohio Wesleyan
Gettysburg was the first team to punch its ticket to the final four on Wednesday, using a second-half run to pull away from Ohio Wesleyan and win 8-5. Andrew Garstka had a hat trick in the second half to help propel the Bullets to the victory.
The teams went back-and-forth throughout the first half, with Gettysburg taking a 3-2 lead into halftime. Five different scorers kept the game close early. Ohio Wesleyan won the shot battle 23-17 and Battling Bishops goalie Ben Rigger had eight saves in the frame.
The Bullets came out of halftime with the momentum, putting together a 3-0 third quarter and adding another to start the fourth quarter and create some breathing room. Garstka had two goals during the run that put Gettysburg ahead for good. Ohio Wesleyan scored three straight goals to cut the deficit to 7-5 with just over three minutes remaining, but Garstka’s goal with 1:35 left clinch the Gettysburg win.
NCAA DIVISION III QUARTERFINALS
RIT 12, York 7
Wesleyan 12, Tufts 11
Salisbury 9, Dickinson 7
Gettysburg 8, Ohio Wesleyan 5