The Red Devils, ranked eighth in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse poll, turned in a strong performance, playing even with the Bullets for the entire first half.

Both teams entered the game unbeaten at 8-0 on the year. The Devils set school records for consecutive wins and for the best start in program history. Gettysburg broke its own school record for best start, improving to 9-0 with the win this afternoon.

The teams were in no hurry to take any chances, feeling out the defenses in the opening minutes. J.C. Ward finally opened the scoring, putting Gettysburg on the board with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter.

Oliver Thompson (Greenwich, Conn./Bridgeton) answered off an assist from Matt Cherry (Radnor, Pa./Radnor) at the 3:22 mark to tie the game. Danno Lynch gave the Bullets a 2-1 edge at the end of the quarter, scoring with just 42 ticks on the clock.

The Devils pulled even once again as Sam Abramson (Alexandria, Va./Potomac) finished a Chris Dodson (Bethesda, Md./Landon) assist with eight minutes to play in the half.

Kyle McGrath scored two of his career-high tying five goals to give the Bullets a 4-2 advantage as the teams went into halftime.

Abramson tallied again to start the third quarter, but Gettysburg responded with a 3-0 run to lead 7-3 at the end of the third.

Thompson kept the Devils alive, trading a pair of scores with McGrath to make the score 9-5 at the 6:03 mark. Chris Cahill added a goal on a fast-break and McGrath found an empty net with 18 seconds to play for the final of 11-5.

Thompson led the attack with three goals while Abramson tallied the other two Devil scores.

First-year Brandon Palladino (Basking Ridge, N.J./Basking Ridge) turned in an outstanding performance, causing three turnovers and controlling four ground balls.

John Haire (Darien, Conn./Darien) and Al Golod (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) joined Palladino in a solid effort on clears and defense while Chris Breslin (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) also played well for the Devils.

Senior goaltender Tyler Magann (Easton, Pa./The Hill School)made seven saves and controlled four ground balls in the cage for the Red Devils.

McGrath finished with five goals and an assist to lead all scorers on the day. Matt Griffo won 5-of-6 face-offs, adding three ground balls while John Leclerc stopped seven shots for Gettysburg.

The Red Devils (8-1, 0-1) travel to Lancaster to face Franklin & Marshall on Saturday at 1:00 pm.