YORK, PA-The York College men's lacrosse team ended their three-game losing streak with an exciting come-from-behind 8-7 win over DeSales University on Tuesday afternoon in York. The Spartans improve to 2-3 overall while DeSales falls to 0-4.
Midway through the third quarter, the Spartans looked like they were dead in the water as the Bulldogs led 7-3 with 10:15 remaining in the quarter. The Spartans trimmed the lead by one when Ben Libertini (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville) scored off a pass from Ben Bereznay (Red Lion, PA/Mt. Hebron (MD)) with 3:41 remaining in the third.
The two teams were back and forth in the opening stages of the fourth quarter as neither team could put the ball in the cage. That ended at the 4:41 mark when Andrew Collins (Olney, MD/Magruder) scored an unassisted goal, cutting the Bulldog lead to 7-5. The Spartans further trimmed the lead 20 seconds later when Keegan Mathe (Arlington Heights, IL/Mt. Hebron) scored a man-advantage goal, pulling YCP to within one goal of the lead with 3:59 remaining in regulation. The Spartan offense, now clicking on all cylinders, tied the game when sophomore standout Josh Papsan (Baltimore, MD/North County) ripped the back of the net with a goal at the 3:34 mark. Freshman Adam Cross (Westminster, MD/Westminster) notched the game-winning goal just 33 seconds later as he scored off a Bereznay pass to complete the scoring. York held off the Bulldogs the remaining three minutes of the game for their second victory of the year.
The Spartans trailed throughout the game as they faced deficits of 2-0, 3-2, and 7-3 before mounting their comeback.
Cross led the Spartans with three goals, including the game-winner. Bereznay dished out three assists in addition to one goal. Collins and Papsan were the other two Spartans with multiple points as they each contributed a goal and an assist. Papsan corralled a game-high 18 ground balls in addition to winning 10-of-17 face offs for the game.
Ben Kelley led the Bulldogs with four goals while Chris Laveglia added a goal and a pair of assists. Patrick Stringer was the third Bulldog with multiple points as he chipped in a goal and an assist.
Dave Welti (Stroudsburg, PA/Hicksville) was strong in goal for the Spartans as he made 11 saves in his 60 minutes of work. Mike Hensinger recorded 14 saves for the Bulldogs as he suffered the loss in goal.
DeSales outshot the Spartans 34-26 while the Spartans held the 56-43 advantage in ground balls.
York returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Marymount University for a Capital Athletic Conference contest. Game time in Arlington, VA is set for 1:00 pm.