YORK, PA – On a sun splashed, windy late
winter afternoon, the York College men's lacrosse team
defeated Widener University 9-5 at York's Kinsley Field. The
victory perks the Spartan record to 5-1 as the green and white have
won four straight. The Pride drops to 1-3 on the season.
Adam Cooper (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) gave York
the initial 1-0 lead 1:51 into the game on a Mike LaRoque
(Arnold, Md./DeMatha) assist. Kyle Henninger
(Millers, Md./Hereford) added to the Spartans' lead
with 11:51 to go in the first frame. The senior's 12th goal
of the season came off a Ryan McNicholas (Fallston,
Md./Fallston) assist and put the green and white up 2-0.
Widener's Clint Quedenfeld answered seven seconds later to
cut the Spartan advantage to one. He then proceeded to tally two
more scores to put his squad up 3-2 with 7:31 left in the second
stanza.
Rob Marine (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) tied the
score with his fourth goal of the season at the 5:37 mark of the
second quarter. McNicholas then closed out the first half scoring
with a goal off a Kalen Roundy (Ijamsville,
Md./Urbana) assist and gave the Spartans the 4-3 halftime
lead.
The third period proved a battle of defensive units, as neither
team was able to forge much offense. York's LaRoque was able
to break through for the period's only score at 7:13 to give
York the 5-3 lead.
An offensive explosion erupted in the fourth frame as the sides
combined for six goals. LaRoque tallied his second of the contest
with 9:30 left in the game while Henninger completed York's
5-0 run with his 8:48 notch from a McNicholas pass. York now held a
7-3 advantage.
JJ Hoeffler cut the Spartan lead to three with a goal at the
7:32 mark but Steve Roy (Feasterville, Pa./Archbishop
Wood) answered for the Spartans with 4:40 remaining.
With the green and white comfortably ahead at 8-4,
Widener's Cory Malampy made the game a little less
comfortable for the home squad with a tally at the 2:20 mark. With
the score now at 8-5, McNicholas squelched any attempt for a
comeback as he scored with 1:28 left in the game as the assist was
credited to Chris Norman (Annapolis,
Md./Broadneck).
For the game, the Spartans held a 43-24 lead in shots and a
39-30 advantage in ground balls. The most telling statistic was
Widener's 33 turnovers as the Spartans only gave the ball
away 19 times.
McNicholas had a great day for the Spartans notching a pair of
scores and two assists. Henninger's two scores gives the
senior a team-leading 13 on the season while he posted one assist.
LaRoque also scored twice and registered one helper. Junior
defenseman Steve Mersinger (Westminster,
Md./Westminster) tallied a game-high eight ground balls
and caused a pair of Widener turnovers.
Quedenfeld paced the Pride as he had a hand in each of his
squad's five tallies. The senior attackman posted a hat trick
and two helpers to bump his season totals to 14 goals and six
assists. Hoeffler and Malampy each chipped in with one goal apiece.
Additionally, Justin Upp was dominant for the Pride on face-offs
winning 10-of-15.
Matt Keeler (Morton, Pa./Ridley) earns the
win between the Spartan pipes notching four saves in his 60 minutes
of work. Tim Collins takes the loss for Widener registering 14
saves for the contest.
The Spartans return to action this Saturday as they travel to
Capital Athletic Conference foe Wesley College. Start time from
Dover, Del. is slated for 1:00 pm.
GAME BOX
