YORK, PA- The top-ranked York College
men's soccer team posted a 5-1 non-conference win over
Gettysburg College on a sun-splashed Wednesday afternoon at
Graham Field in York. The Spartans, who were elevated to the
number one spot in the nation on Tuesday evening, are now 2-0 as
their unbeaten streak improves to 42 games. The Bullets suffer
their first loss of the year as they are now 2-1.
In 2006, the Bullets were one of two teams to hold the
Spartans' scoreless en route to a 0-0 tie on October 18. This
year, Spartan senior Andrew Wheeler (Baltimore,
Md./Patapsco) needed all of 1:32 to get the green and
white on the board. Wheeler capitalized on a Gettysburg defensive
breakdown as he scooped up the mistake and beat Bullet goalie Adam
Finkel for the tally. The goal was Wheeler's third of the
year.
The two teams played the remainder of the half without another
score as York outshot the visitors 7-2 while the Bullets held a 2-0
edge in corner kicks.
The green and white opened the second half similar to how the
first stanza began as sophomore Jon Ports (Baltimore,
Md./McDonogh) tallied a goal off a pass from Wheeler just
46 seconds into the half. Jason Mancuso (Toms River,
N.J./Toms River North) pushed the lead to 3-0 when he
scored off a Wheeler assist in the game's 50th minute as the
Spartans seized control of the momentum.
Gettysburg had one bright spot as Geoff Menge tallied a goal on
a penalty kick at the 53:53 mark. That goal snapped York's
defensive scoreless streak at 998:58. York had not given up a goal
since October 14 when the Catholic Cardinals scored on the green
and white defense. Menge's score snapped a ten-game shutout
streak for YCP. The goal was Menge's second tally of the
campaign.
York continued to build on their lead as Mancuso got his second
goal of the game as Lucas Emil (Parsippany, N.J./Morris
Catholic) fired a pass to Mancuso in the box. The Spartan
senior collected the pass and drilled a shot that just got under
the crossbar for the goal with just over 20 minutes remaining in
the match.
Senior Charlie Barrett (Newtown, Pa./Archbishop
Wood) capped the scoring as he converted a penalty kick
after being taken down in the box by a Gettysburg defender with
15:41 remaining in the game.
The Spartans finished the game holding a 14-4 edge in total
shots including a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. The game was a bit
chippy with 35 combined fouls and six cards in the match.
Junior Kyle Marks (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury)
earned the win despite not being forced to make a save. He improves
to 2-0 as he registered 81:59 in goal. Finkel absorbed the loss for
Gettysburg as he allowed three goals in 58:06 of action.
Matt Langston relieved Finkel and allowed two goals with no
saves in 31:54 of work.
The Spartans now take to the road as they travel to Christopher
Newport to face #21 Kean on Friday afternoon at 5:00 pm in the
opening round of the Joe Pombriant/CNU Classic. The
Spartans then face undefeated College of New Jersey on Saturday at
5:00 pm in the second round of the tournament.
BOX
SCORE
