ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- After a slow start to the game, Gavin Gismondi got the Elizabethtown College men's lacrosse team rolling as he went for a career-high eight goals in the Blue Jays' 17-8 semifinal win to advance to Saturday's championship.

Catholic won three of the four face-offs and controlled the first quarter as they got out to a 3-0 lead through 15 minutes.

It didn't take long for Gismondi to get going. Riley Langen found the First Team attackman a minute and a half into the second to get the Jays on the board with his first of the night. By the 5:19 mark of the second, Gismondi had his hat trick, and, with 3:50 to go and a man up, he netted his fourth of the first half for his 100th career goal. Colin Kondracki assisted on the goal and then scored less than a minute later, a second straight man up on a locked in penalty for the Cardinals that gave Etown the lead.

The Blue Jays led 7-5 at the half with all seven goals coming in the second quarter, with five of them belonging to Gismondi.

Brayden Franey was excellent in the cage for Elizabethtown, including six saves in the third quarter as the Cardinals looked to keep pace, but the senior all-conference goalie stymied their offense as the Jays continued to pile on the goals. They outscored Catholic 5-1 in the third. Alex Kilgour was set up by Nolan Krasnick in the first few minutes of the third before Reese Levinson scored two in a row. Etown had doubled its lead to 10-5 with 8:08 left in the third.

Catholic got within four, at 10-6, but it was too much Jays' offense. Gismondi and Joey Killpatrick finished out the third-quarter scoring for EC before Gismondi's seventh goal began the fourth. It was five straight for the top-seeded Jays as Langen, Lucca Scomillio and Tristan Coleman got in on the action.

Gismondi started the scoring and also ended the scoring for Elizabethtown. His eighth of the night with under five to go was more than Catholic had as a team until John Hadden tallied with 4:16 left.

Gismondi's nine points tie for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. His eight goals are tied for the second-most in a game.

Franey finished the night with 17 saves and TJ Chapman won the face-off battle with the First Team specialist from the Cardinals, 15-10. Chapman grabbed 10 ground balls and Connor Stewart caused a pair of turnovers and had four ground balls in the game.

Elizabethtown will host Scranton on Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m. in a rematch of last year's championship.