| 3/2/2003 10:49:18 PM

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LEXINGTON, Va. – Nick Purkat and Chase Stewart, both new additions to the Gettysburg starting attack, combined for six goals and three assists to lead the second-ranked Bullets past No. 15 RIT 11-5 in non-conference men’s lacrosse action on Sunday.

Purkat scored three times to key a 7-1 second-half run that helped Gettysburg (1-0) win its sixth consecutive season opener. Stewart also netted a hat-trick in his first collegiate start.

Tim McGinnis, the 2002 Division III Goalie of the Year, picked up where he left off last season, making 12 saves to keep the Tigers (0-1) at bay before the Bullets’ second-half eruption.

Chris Copeland (Webster, NY/Webster) and David Thering (Fairport, NY/Fairport H.S.) each scored twice for RIT, while Ryan Neward (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East) added a goal and an assist.

Despite six penalties and nine turnovers in the first half, Gettysburg managed to take a 4-3 lead into halftime.

Matt Twombly, who sat out the 2002 season, opened the scoring with an unassisted drive through traffic just 1:41 into the game. Twombly staked the Bullets to a 2-0 advantage by finishing another solo effort at the 6:55 mark of the first quarter.

RIT battled back to tie the game at 2-2 behind the first two collegiate goals from Thering. The freshman attackman scored off a feed from Tony Green (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas) just one minute after Twombly’s second goal, then found the net again off a feed from Neward with 2:30 left in the quarter.

John O’Bannon gave Gettysburg a 3-2 lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter, taking a behind-the-net feed from Purkat and ripping a shot past Tiger netminder Jon Sinclair (Herndon, VA/Herndon H.S.).

Neward scored off a long solo run to knot the game at 3-3 with 11:46 to play before halftime. Stewart restored the Bullets’ one-goal lead with his first collegiate goal off another feed from Purkat at the 10:12 mark.

McGinnis flashed his 2002 form with a point-blank save on Dave Demuth (Jordan, N.Y./Jordan Elbridge) minutes after Stewart’s goal to preserve the 4-3 lead.

After halftime, Gettysburg took over sparked by Jake Van Nostrand faked his defender and fed Purkat, who scored while falling backwards to make it 5-3. Stewart finished a curling run just over a minute later for the Bullets’ first three-goal advantage of the day.

Copeland scored unassisted to bring RIT briefly within two, but Stewart and Purkat each found the net in a span of 1:37 to make it 8-4. Brian Ford capped the decisive period with his first collegiate goal, scoring in transition of a feed from O’Bannon with 53.6 seconds left in the quarter.

Purkat capped his hat-trick with 13:07 remaining and Kevin Smith closed out the scoring with his first goal of the season at 8:12.

Due to delays in the renovation of Gettysburg’s home field from natural grass to an artificial surface, the game was moved to Washington & Lee University.

The Tigers are idle until next Saturday, March 8 when they are scheduled to travel to Messiah.

Score by Quarter

1	2	3	4	-	F
#15 RIT	2	1	1	1	-	5
#2 Gettysburg	2	2	5	2	-	11

Goals:
RIT: Chris Copeland (Webster, NY/Webster) 2, David Thering (Fairport, NY/Fairport H.S.) 2, Ryan Neward (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East).
Gettysburg: Nick Purkat 3, Chase Stewart 3, Matt Twombly 2, John O’Bannon, Kevin Smith, Brian Ford.

Assists:
RIT: Tony Green (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas), Dave Griffin (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee H.S.), Neward.
Gettysburg: Jake Van Nostrand 2, Purkat 2, Peter Politi, Sean McTernan, O’Bannon, Stewart.

Shots: RIT 29, Gettysburg 29.

Ground Balls: RIT 23, Gettysburg 45.

Extra-Man: RIT 1 of 8, Gettysburg 0 of 5. Faceoffs: RIT 8, Gettysburg 12.

Goalies: RIT (Jon Sinclair (Herndon, VA/Herndon H.S.) – 60:00, 5 saves, 11 GA), Gettysburg (Tim McGinnis – 60:00, 12 saves, 5 GA).

Clearing: RIT 17 of 23, Gettysburg 14 of 21.

Penalties: RIT 5 for 3:00, Gettysburg 8 for 6:00. Attendance: 50.