YORK, PA - Behind a seven-goal fourth quarter, the York
College men's lacrosse team captured their first victory of
the 2010 season on Saturday afternoon, besting visiting St. Vincent
16-11. With the triumph, the Green and White nab the win in their
home-opener to go to 1-2 on the season while the Bearcats begin the
year at 0-1.
Josh Gamble (Easton, Md./Easton) paced the
Spartans offensively as he tallied a game-high six goals. Three of
those tallies came during York's fourth-quarter surge to put
the game out of reach.
Much of the contest proved a back-and-forth affair as the Spartans
went into the fourth quarter up a mere one at 9-8.
St. Vincent's Zach Wilfong quickly erased that deficit just
18 seconds into the final period on his first goal of the game.
Wilfong struck again with 12:30 to play to swing the lead over to
the visitors' side at 10-9.
Wilfong's second tally woke the Spartans up however, as the
Green and White embarked on an extended seven-goal run.
Sophomore B.J. Blaker (West Chester,
Pa./Henderson), who is coming off a fantastic rookie
campaign, brought the score back even at 10-10 with his fifth goal
of the season at the 10:35 mark. Ryan McNicholas (Fallston,
Md./Fallston) followed shortly after with his team-leading
eleventh of the year, converting on a Gamble assist. In perhaps one
of the prettiest scores of the afternoon, York swung the ball to
Gamble along the left side of the goal. The Spartan junior then
found a wide-open McNicholas on the doorstep of the Bearcat cage
before McNicholas calmly slipped home the tally.
In nearly as quickly as they lost the lead, the Spartans had
regained the advantage as their back-to-back tallies put the home
squad up 11-10 with 9:17 to play.
The Spartan onslaught continued as Nick Bach (Glen Burnie,
Md./North County) gave York a two-goal advantage with his
6:42 tally. Gamble would then net three of York's next four
scores, beginning at the 4:56 mark and ending with 48 seconds left,
while newcomer Kevin Topper (Marriottsville,
Md./Liberty) provided an extra-man opportunity goal with
4:29 to play.
For the game, the Spartans held a 49-42 advantage in shots while
the Bearcats snagged 55 ground balls to York's 45. The
Spartans also won 18 of the 31 face-offs for the contest.
Aside from Gamble's offensive prowess, McNicholas and Blaker
each tallied three times while Adam Cooper (Bel Air,
Md./Bel Air) posted a pair of scores. Zach Scherr
(Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) was fantastic for the Green
and White in face-offs winning 15-of-25 while collecting 10 ground
balls and causing two turnovers. Goalkeeper Chris Collins
(Westminster, Md./Westminster), who put on another quality
performance, secures the win in net after making 14 saves.
Will DeLanoy led the Bearcats offense with three goals and three
assists, while he also picked up five ground balls and caused two
turnovers. Three other Bearcats posted two goals, including Wilfong
who also registered nine ground balls. Jon McMahon suffers the loss
in the cage despite making ten stops.
The Spartans now hit the road as they travel south to Greensboro,
N.C. for their spring break trip. While there, York will take on
St. John Fisher, who was ranked 20th in the preseason, in a 1:00
p.m. non-conference tilt.
GAME BOX
Photo: Josh Gamble ties the game at seven with the
third of his six goals on the day.
