MIDDLEBURY, CT-The York College men's soccer team advanced
to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight with a 5-4 win over Amherst in
the shootout after both teams played 110 minutes of scoreless
soccer on Saturday in Middlebury, VT. The Spartans advance to face
host Middlebury, 3-0 winners over Williams, on Sunday with a trip
to the Final Four riding on the line.
The Spartans are now 21-2-1 while the Jeffs end their season
15-2-1. The game goes down as a tie with York advancing due to the
penalty kicks.
The green and white were back on their heels early as they
adjusted to Amherst's physical style of play. The Jeffs
controlled the early play but the Spartans got their legs
underneath them and started to wrestle momentum away from Amherst.
That momentum would be unrealized as the teams headed to the break
without a score. Both teams managed four first half shots with
Amherst holding a 2-1 edge in shots on goal and 5-1 bulge in corner
kicks for the half.
The second half saw the Spartans take the offensive as they
outshot Amherst 10-2 including 3-0 in shots on goal. Unfortunately
for York, none of those shots found the back of the cage as the
teams headed to the first overtime.
The Jeffs had the only shot on goal in the two overtimes as Kyle
Marks (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) recorded a first overtime save.
The two teams then headed to penalty kicks, where one team would
survive and advance, while the other team would suffer the agony of
having their season conclude.
Amherst got the first attempt and John Kneeland was turned away,
putting momentum in the lap of the green and white. Sophomore Jon
Ports (Baltimore, Md./McDonough), the CAC Player-of-the-Year put
the Spartans up with a conversion in his attempt. The two teams
would each convert their second, third and fourth attempts, setting
the stage for the two final attempts. Amherst's Jake Duker
notched his attempt to tie the shootout at four. Junior Evan
Scheffey (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) then stepped up in front of goal. A
conversion by Scheffey and the Spartans advanced. The junior
defender promptly drilled home his try and the York season
continues for at least one more day.
The Spartans finished the game outshooting Amherst 19-7 while
the Jeffs had an 8-5 edge in corner kicks. Marks recorded three
saves for the Spartans while Jeff Grover earned the shutout for
Amherst, making four saves.
York will look to advance to their first Final Four on Sunday as
they face host Middlebury at 1:00 pm.
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