YORK, PA – The York College men's lacrosse team took
a disappointing 10-6 loss Saturday afternoon, falling to visiting
St. Mary's College of Maryland 10-6. The Spartans fall to 6-5
(2-3 CAC) on the year while the Seahawks improve to 6-5 (4-1
CAC).
York opened the scoring merely 48 seconds into the first quarter as
Mike LaRoque (Arnold, Md./DeMatha) tallied his
fourth goal of the season to put the Spartans up 1-0. After a pair
of St. Mary's goals gave the Seahawks the 2-1 advantage,
Steve Roy (Feasterville, Pa./Archbishop Wood)
evened the score at 2-2 on a LaRoque assist with 9:05 left in the
frame. Senior midfielder Chris Chappelle (Stevensville,
Md./Chesapeake) then gave the Spartans their last lead of
the contest with his eighth goal of season with 1:04 remaining in
the quarter.
The majority of the offensive production came in the second stanza
as the sides combined for seven scores in the frame. Pat Oliphant
and reigning Capital Athletic Conference Co-Rookie of the Year Ryan
Alexander had a hand in four of St. Mary's five scores during
the second fifteen minutes. Oliphant registered a goal and an
assist while Alexander scored once and assisted on two scores
including Oliphant's tally.
York kept it close in the quarter receiving goals from Ryan
McNicholas (Fallston, Md./Fallston) and Brian
O'Neill (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) but after the
first 30 minutes of action, the Seahawks led 7-5.
The offensive production of the second quarter gave way to defense
in the third, as York's Roy recorded the stanza's only
score. Roy's second tally of the contest brought the Spartans
to within one at 7-6 going into the fourth quarter.
The 7-6 score would be as close as the Spartans would get as St.
Mary's tallied three times in the final frame. Bobby Cooke
put the visitors ahead 8-6 with 13:44 showing on the clock while
Steve Hutwelker's 11:04 goal gave the Seahawks the 9-6
advantage. Alexander then sealed the victory for St. Mary's
with his second goal of the game with 7:15 to play.
For the game, the Spartans out shot their guests 38-24 while St.
Mary's collected 36 ground balls to York's 30. The
Seahawks were dominant on face-offs winning 16-of-20.
Roy's two scores led the Spartan offense as four other
Spartans each recorded one tally. Chris Norman (Annapolis,
Md./Broadneck), Kyle Henninger (Millers,
Md./Hereford), and LaRoque each dished out one assist.
Steve Mersinger (Westminster, Md./Westminster)
played a solid defensive game collecting a team-high seven ground
balls and causing five turnovers.
For the Seahawks, Alexander and Hutwelker paced the attack with two
goals each. Alexander also added a pair of assists. St.
Mary's spread out the majority of their scoring as their six
other scores came from six different players. Face-off specialist
Marc DiPasquale commanded the face-offs capturing 15 of his 19
attempts and picking up four ground balls. Defenseman Ryan Mull
grabbed a team-best five ground balls and caused a pair of
turnovers.
Matt Keeler (Morton, Pa./Ridley) takes the
loss in the net for the Spartans as he made eleven saves. JJ
Strombosky and Pat Simpson combined in net for the Seahawks.
Strombosky manned the pipes for the first half making eights saves
to record the victory. Simpson played the final 30 minutes and
recorded nine stops.
The Spartans hit the road next Wednesday, traveling to Villa Julie
for a 3:30 pm CAC contest.
GAME BOX
Chris Chappelle photo courtesy of Steve Doemland
