YORK, PA - The York College men's soccer team slipped
past visiting St. Mary's College of Maryland in a 2-1
overtime thriller in Saturday's Capital Athletic Conference
match. The Spartans scored their pair of tallies in a span of 4:28
as regulation closed and overtime began. With the victory, York
improves to an impressive 12-1 (5-1 CAC), while the Seahawks fall
to 5-7 (2-4 CAC).
The Spartans looked sharp early
in the match, rattling off the games first three
shots.
Jason Mancuso (Toms River, N.J. / Toms
River North) and Jon Ports (Baltimore, Md. / McDonogh)
were very dangerous on as the Spartans looked to gain the early
lead.
Unfortunatley for the green and white, St. Mary's got on
the board first as Mikael Tigrett finished an Alex Pyzik pass to
put the Seahawks up 1-0 19:33 into the match. Pyzik turned the
corner on the right side of the pitch forcing a York defender into
a tough challenge, leaving the middle of the box wide open. Pyzik
calmly found Tigrett standing all by himself ten yards from the
Spartan goal. The senior forward promptly buried his shot giving
the visitors the early advantage. The tally is the first goal the
York squad has conceded in any first half this season.
Both sides battled hard throughout the rest of the period and
deep into the second stanza. In the 69th minute, it looked as if
the Spartans would tie the game at one goal apiece when Ports
blasted a rocket that seemed destined for paydirt. Seahawk
goalkeeper Tim Carrier thought otherwise as he made a brilliant
save tipping the ball over the crossbar to keep York
scoreless.
Emotions ran high throughout the match and came to a head as
time crept into the 82nd minute. A vicious tackle from a St.
Mary's defender led to a scuffle between the two sides. After
both sides separated, Seahawk defender Zack Zarker was assessed a
red card for his role in the altercation. With regulation coming
quickly to a close and now playing a man-up, York pushed hard for
the equalizer.
Andrew Wheeler (Baltimore, Md. /
Patapsco) collected the ball outside the box and beat his
defender for a one-on-one with Carrier. The senior goalkeeper made
another fantastic save as the ball bounded away from the goal.
Fortunately for the green and white, the ricochet went directly to
an awaiting Ports 25 yards out. With Carrier now well off his line,
the sophomore deftly struck a beautiful shot that found the back of
the Seahawk net to tie the score at one.
Moving into the overtime period, the green and white needed
only 54 seconds to garner the victory. A Ports free kick from the
left side of the Seahawk box found the head of Wheeler who snapped
home the game winner. Wheeler's tenth goal of the campaign
sent the York faithful home happy.
For the match, the Spartans had an obscene 21-6 bulge in shots
while also leading in corners 7-2.
Kyle Marks (Yardley, Pa. /
Pennsbury) earned the win in net for the green and white
recording one save on the day. Carrier played an incredible match
as he notched six saves over his 90:54 of work including several
brilliant stops.
The Spartans return to action this Tuesday, October 9, hosting
#4 Messiah College in a highly anticipated non-conference tilt.
Game time at York's Graham Field is slated for 4:00 pm.
