DOVER, DE – The York College field hockey squad picked up a huge Capital Athletic Conference victory Thursday evening, besting Wesley College 1-0 under the lights in Dover, Del. The Spartans improve their 2009 mark to 10-6 including a 3-2 record in league play, while the Wolverines drop to 10-5 and also 3-2 in the conference.

The Green and White tallied the game-winner in the 23^rd minute following their fourth penalty corner of the game. After junior Casey Lawrence (Abbottstown, Pa./Delone Catholic) inserted the corner, Allison Roush (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) then found Lawrence allowing the junior to notch her fourth tally of 2009.

The Spartans nearly tallied their first 12:19 into the game. A Lawrence penalty corner eventually set up Roush for her first attempt of the evening. However, Roush's shot resulted in a defensive save by Wesley's Dana Keller as the Green and White would be forced to wait until ten more minutes before registering the game-winning tally.

Lawrence's score would prove all the Spartans would need however, as York's defense proved stout throughout the 70 minutes of action.

The hosts did provide the Green and White with a stiff test, rifling off 17 total shots as well as recording 12 penalty corners. Wesley's final offensive burst came with only 3:20 remaining on the clock. Danielle Tearl struck a shot on the Spartan cage but was turned away by senior All-CAC goalkeeper Claire Rekitzke (Seaford, Del./Seaford Senior). The ensuing rebound did find the stick of Brooke Tadlock but the junior's attempt pushed wide of the goal.

York would close out the final minutes without allowing another Wesley attempt to secure the shutout victory.

Rekitzke put in an exceptional performance for the Spartans as she saved eight Wesley shots on the evening to record her first clean sheet win of the season. Setting up the Spartans for a tremendous defensive game, the senior recorded a trio of consecutive stops in the eighth minute of play. Within a six-second span, Rekitzke turned away Nicole Hill, Tadlock, and Abigail Hill setting the stage for a stupendous 70-minute effort.

Sarah Johnson, Rekitzke's counterpart, made a pair of saves for the Wolverines in the loss as she faced four York shots on the evening.

The victory over Wesley allows the Spartans to pull into a tie for third place with the Wolverines in the CAC standings with only one league match remaining on their respective schedules. York will visit St. Mary's on October 24 while the Wolverines head to Stevenson on October 29.

The Spartans break the double-digit win plateau for the first time since the 2006 season when the Green and White posted a 12-9 mark. Additionally, after going 0-7 on the road last season, the Spartans have posted a strong 8-2 mark away from home this year.

The Spartans are now set to host Neumann University on Monday, October 19, in a 3:00 p.m. non-conference tilt.

BOX SCORE

Claire Rekitzke made eight saves on Thursday evening as she picked up her first shutout win of the season