HOBOKEN, NJ - The York College men's soccer team pulled out an
incredible 2-1 double overtime victory Sunday night over Eastern
University in Hoboken, N.J. The Spartans now up their record
to 21-2 and advance to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.
The Eagles end their season after posting a 13-6-2 mark.
With 3:52 left on the clock in the second overtime, sophomore
forward Mike O'Connell (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) knocked
home an open goal header to advance the Spartans in the
tournament. After an Eastern goal kick was picked off by
Andrew Wheeler (Baltimore, Md./Patapsco), the senior forward raced
down the field with the ball at his feet. With just the
goalkeeper to beat, Wheeler banged his shot off the inside of the
near post. The fortunate ricochet came right to O'Connell who
sent the Spartans into the Sweet 16.
York opened the match controlling most of the play.
Eastern seemed content to sit back, keep their defensive shape, and
look for counter-attacks. The strategy worked; at least for a
time.
As the clock ticked toward ten minutes into the match, York
unnecessarily gave away the ball in the midfield giving the Eagles
a free run at goal. The error forced a Spartan defender to make a
great tackle just to knock the ball out for a corner kick.
Eastern's Ryan Castle hit a marvelous corner to the far post where
Taylor VanBrackle banged home the game's first tally. Now up
1-0, the Eagles continued to put ten players behind the ball,
daring the Spartans to score.
The rest of the first frame went back-and-forth as neither side
seemed to have the better of the play. York did hold a 6-3
advantage in shots, but Eastern goalkeeper Michael Dorsch was up to
the challenge allowing the Eagles to go into the break with the one
goal advantage.
The Spartans began the second half an inspired group, sprinting
all over the pitch and controlling the pace of play. York's
high-energy efforts paid off about midway through the second frame
when Mike Whalen (Philadelphia, Pa./LaSalle) tallied the
equalizer. A melee in front of the Eastern net left Whalen
with an opportunity that he simply could not pass up. The
junior defender hit a great ball that snuck just over the line
before an Eagle defender was able to clear the attempt. The
alert linesman signaled that the ball had crossed the line and York
found themselves even with the Eagles.
York controlled the rest of the period, tallying eleven shots
over the 45 minutes. Eastern was only able to muster one
attempt at goal. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they were
unable to break Dorsch and the game spilled into overtime.
The first overtime period saw the green and white get two
beautiful chances in the first two minutes. O'Connell floated
a brilliant header toward the far upper 90 that Dorsch was just
able to get his fingers on to tip over the crossbar. On the
ensuing corner kick, Jon Ports (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) found
Wheeler's head as a senior snapped his shot just above the
crossbar. The rest of the period saw equal play from both
teams but neither was able to score sending the match into a second
overtime where the Spartans came out victorious.
For the match the Spartans held an impressive 27-4 bulge in
shots, including 21 shots in the final three frames. York
played a great second half and overtime periods to swing the match
to their favor.
Credit must be given to Eastern goalkeeper Dorsch. The
junior played an exceptional match stopping numerous Spartan
attempts that seemed destined to find the back of the net.
York advances to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive
season. The green and white are set to take on Amherst who
were 3-2 winners over Western New England. Most likely the
match will be played in the New England area, as the Spartan's
women's soccer team will be hosting their Sweet 16 and Elite 8
rounds in York.
GAME
BOX
