GRANTHAM, PA - The York College men's soccer
team captured a 2-1 victory at #2 Messiah College in the highly
anticipated showdown of nationally ranked squads in Grantham, PA.
The win keeps the #3 Spartans perfect at 13-0 while the Falcons
fall to 9-1-1.
Messiah treated their home fans to an early 1-0 lead, as the
Falcons got on the board in the game's 22nd minute. Josh
Sanders was able to get in behind the Spartan defense and found
himself in a 1v1 with Spartan goalkeeper Kyle Marks
(Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury). Sanders calmly touched the ball
around Marks and slotted home the game's first score.
The Spartans notched the equalizer just over ten minutes later
on Jon Ports' (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh)
team-leading ninth goal of the season. Sophomore Lucas Emil
(Parsippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) won the ball at
midfield before touching it around a Messiah defender and into open
space. Emil then dribbled to the top of the Falcon penalty box
where he slipped a pass to the diagonally running Ports. The junior
All-American then swiftly touched his shot pass the Falcon's
on-rushing goalkeeper to tie the score at one.
Messiah would look to strike first in the second frame but the
Spartans were able to withstand the pressure. The Falcons would
record four shots over a period of 41 seconds between the 60:27 and
61:08 marks. York's defense needed to clear two off the line
and Marks was forced to make a save during Messiah's flurry
of attempts.
York countered the Falcon surge in the 63rd minute when senior
Chris Ports (Baltimore, Md./John Carroll) notched
his sixth of the year. A Messiah clearance was knocked back to the
feet of freshman Kemal Nuspahic (East Petersburg,
Pa./Warwick) on the right side of the Falcon penalty box.
Nuspahic scooted a pass across the face of the goal to Chris Ports
who one-timed the eventual game-winner into the back of the Messiah
net.
The Spartans would avoid danger for a final time in the
game's final minute of play. With 51 seconds remaining in
regulation, Messiah's J.D. Binger snapped a header that was
cleared off the line by the Spartan defense.
For the match, the Falcons owned a 12-8 lead in shots including
an 8-1 advantage in the second frame. York did secure an 8-3 margin
in corners.
Marks takes the win in the Spartan net recording a pair of
stops, while the York defense came up big on the evening with three
team saves. Jared Clugston stopped a trio of Spartan attempts in
the loss.
The green and white will next travel to Rutgers-Camden on
Saturday, October 11. The non-conference tilt is slated for 3:00
pm.
MATCH BOX
Jon Ports photo courtesy of Eric
Linsley
