The Muhlenberg women’s lacrosse team hung with eighth-ranked Gettysburg for a little while, but could not counter the Bullets’ explosive attack and fell, 17-8, in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams.

The Mules (4-1) had their school-record five-game winning streak, dating back to last year’s finale, snapped.

Gettysburg, the four-time defending CC champion, has never lost to Muhlenberg in 19 all-time meetings, and led each of the previous three meetings 10-3 at halftime. The Mules made the Bullets work harder for this win.

Muhlenberg took a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes, only to have Gettysburg score three times in less than two minutes to take its first lead. The Mules responded with a pair of goals to go back ahead, 4-3, 13:09 into the game.

The Bullets notched the next four goals to go ahead for good, but Muhlenberg closed to within two, at 7-5, when freshman Kate Noone scored her second goal of the game with 12:41 left in the half. The Mules went dry the rest of the half, however, while Gettysburg scored three times.

The second half followed a similar pattern: Freshman Ruth Morrongiello’s goal with 19:13 left kept Muhlenberg within striking distance at 12-8, but the Bullets pitched a shutout the rest of the way.

Morrongiello had six ground balls and three caused turnovers to go with her two goals, while senior Shannon Donohue recorded three assists for the fourth game in a row.

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At a school named for the first and third presidents, the first and third quarters were even, with each team scoring three times in both. But the

Sophomore Luke LaMarca helped the Mules dominate the fourth quarter by winning five of six faceoffs. He was 10-for-14 overall.

Mules (1-2) played the roles of Adams & Madison, outscoring the Presidents (2-3) by a combined 9-2 count in the second and fourth.

The score was tied 5-5 before Muhlenberg took the lead for good with two goals in the last minute of the first half. With 54.3 seconds left, junior Sean Toohill spun from behind the cage to score, and 33.5 seconds later sophomore Mickey Norton completed a long run down the field with one of his four goals, giving the Mules a 7-5 lead.

W&J cut the gap to 9-8 on a goal with 8:47 left in the third, but Muhlenberg scored the last six goals of the game. Norton had two goals and two assists in the fourth quarter alone, which saw the Mules roll up a 17-5 advantage in ground balls.

Norton’s six points were a career high, and Toohill and sophomore Kyle Farris also notched hat tricks with three goals apiece.

Junior Daniel Kotch made a season-high 15 saves, and junior Christian Messler picked up six ground balls.

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