Spartans Battle Back; Fall Late to St. Mary's
St. Mary's City, Md. – The York College
field hockey squad suffered a hard luck 3-2 loss on the road
Saturday as St. Mary's College (Md.) bested the Spartans in the
Capital Athletic Conference contest. With the loss, the Green and
White drop to 2-3 (1-1 CAC) on the year while the Seahawks improve
to a flawless 4-0 (1-0 CAC).
The hosts jumped out front early in the game, posting the opening
score just 4:45 after the opening whistle. Samantha Locke notched
what proved to be her second goal of the campaign after banging
home a loose ball at the near post, giving the Seahawks a 1-0
advantage.
Following that opening score, both squads could do little
offensively for the remainder of the first half, but for
significantly different reasons. St. Mary's would go on to post
seven more shots in the frame but the combination of
bend-but-don't-break Spartan defense and the play of goalkeeper Maggie
Schlauch kept the hosts within reach. On the other end, the
Spartans could only manage one attempt in the half, a strike
on-goal from Sandee Reich.
That all changed in the second 35 minutes. The Spartans put on a
significantly better offensive showing, tallying nine shots to St.
Mary's eight, as both squads found the back of the cage on multiple
occasions – resulting in a pulse-pounding end.
Lauriann Parker put the hosts up by two in the game's 45th minute
as she knocked home her fifth of the season into the far lower
corner.
Undeterred, the Green and White began to mount their comeback as
the next four shots came from Spartan sticks.
After a pair of St. Mary's attempts, resulting in a pair of Maggie
Schlauch saves, the York side got on the board courtesy of senior
forward Katie
Dawkins. The 2009 All-CAC selection notched her first goal of
the year 57:40 into the game as she slipped her shot from the near
post to the far allowing it to ricochet into the cage. Dawkins'
tally cut the Seahawk lead in half, 2-1.
Just 4:44 later, the Spartans recorded the tying score on Jillian Brezgel's
third tally of the season. Junior defender Colleen O'Rourke
served Brezgel a pass from the top of the circle to the far post
where the Spartan rookie knocked home the equalizer.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they could not sustain that
momentum and turn it into the go-ahead score as they had expended
plenty of energy during the comeback.
Over the next 6:25 the Seahawks would register the only offensive
activity as they notched a penalty corner and rattled off three
straight shots.
That third attempt found paydirt as Parker tallied her second of
the game, sixth of the season, and the game-winner. Parker's tally
came with only 68:49 to play, as she had broken free from the
Spartan defense for a 1v1 with Schlauch. The talented forward
flicked her shot just over Schlauch's hand for the game's final
goal.
For the contest, St. Mary's outshot their guests 18-10 but the
York squad posted an 11-5 lead in penalty corners.
Goalkeeper Lydia Garcia picks up the CAC triumph for the Seahawks
as she made three saves over her 70 minutes of work. Schlauch made
eight saves for the Spartans as she also saw all 70 minutes.
York will now look to push back up to .500 as they play host to
Susquehanna next Tuesday, September 14. The Green and White square
off with the Crusaders in a 4:30 non-conference contest from York's
Kinsley Field.
Jillian Brezgel photo courtesy of Zach Clabaugh - www.sharpedgefoto.com
