YORK, PA-The York College women's lacrosse team dropped
their 2008 home opener, falling to Salisbury University, 22-4 in
Capital Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon in
York. The Sea Gulls, who are ranked second in the nation, improve
to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the CAC. The Spartans fall to 1-2 and 0-2
in the conference.
The Sea Gulls wasted little time in asserting themselves as they
scored the first eight goals of the game. Beth Rhodey scored three
of those eight goals while Jessica Chmielewski, Robyn Bishop, Sue
Ackermann, Alexis Morrell, and Jessica Liston each registered
single tallies in the run.
York got on the board with 16:04 left in the opening half as
Rachel Papsan (Baltimore, Md./North County) scored
her first goal of the year on a free position shot. The Gulls
responded by scoring the next four goals to increase their lead to
12-1. Senior Alison Napolitano (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis
Area Christian) tallied an unassisted goal on another free
position shot with 5:23 remaining, trimming the York deficit to
12-2. Chmielewski added another goal prior to the half as Salisbury
led 13-2 at the break.
The second half saw the Spartans open the stanza with
Papsan's second goal of the game just over a minute into
play. The Gulls responded with three straight goals, increasing
their lead to 16-3. York's final goal came from
Kaitlin Davis (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's)
with 18:50 left in the game. The Gulls finished the game with a 6-0
flurry to provide for the final score.
Salisbury was paced by Rhodey as she notched five goals.
Chmielewski added four goals and an assist while Ackermann added
two goals and two assists. Bishop was another multiple point scorer
with two goals and one assist. The Gulls had 13 different players
score goals while seven different players had an assist.
Papsan paced the York offense with two goals while Napolitano
and Davis each contributed one tally for the hosts.
Goalkeeper Anne Feustle (Baltimore,
Md./Catonsville) went the distance in goal for York as she
allowed all 22 Salisbury goals while she made 10 saves in the loss.
Sonja Stuart made the start in goal for Salisbury and she played
45:12, making nine saves as she allowed the four Spartan goals.
Natalie Pappas relieved Stuart and played the final 14:48. She was
not forced to make a save as the Spartans did not attempt a shot
over that final 14:48 of the game.
Salisbury finished the game holding a 43-15 edge in shots
including a 32-13 edge in shots on goal. The Gulls finished with a
20-10 edge in ground balls. The Spartans had 24 turnovers, 15 of
which were caused by the Sea Gulls. Salisbury took care of the
ball, committing seven miscues with one of those mistakes being
caused by York.
Salisbury converted 4-of-5 free position shots while the
Spartans went just 2-for-6 in free position shots for the game.
Salisbury won the battle of the draw controls 14-13.
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday afternoon when they
travel to Chestnut Hill for a non-conference contest. Game time is
set for 4:00 pm.
GAME BOX
Photo courtesy of Stephen Doemland
