Box Score YORK, PA – The York College men's soccer team dropped a hard-to-swallow 2-1 Capital Athletic Conference decision to Penn State Harrisburg on a sunny, but windy, Wednesday afternoon at Graham Field in York.
The Spartans fall to 4-4-4 overall and 1-1-1 in the CAC. The Lions improve to 8-3 overall and 1-2 in the league.
The Lions wasted little time in getting on the board in the opening five minutes of the game. Aaron Kline took a corner kick for the Lions. He played the ball short to Isaac Amedza off the corner. Amedza fed the ball back to Kline who hit a blistering, harsh angle shot that slotted into the upper shelf for the game's opening goal. Kline's goal came 4:13 into the game.
The Spartans wasted little time in answering as freshman Joel Teston (Manassas, Va./Forest Park) received a pass on the left wing, dribbled by a Harrisburg defender and struck a well placed shot under a diving Lion goalie Brandon Hoover inside the right post, tying the game at one in the 12th minute.
The two teams went back and forth the remainder of the half with neither team holding a statistical advantage. In fact, both teams had a goal, five total shots, two shots on goal, six fouls and two corner kicks.
The Spartans had a fantastic opportunity to take the lead in the 51st minute as Brendan Saberton (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) hit a great cross into the box and onto the head of Teston. Teston's header slipped just wide right as the Lions dodged a major bullet.
The Lions countered in the 56th minute when Kline collected a loose ball ten yards outside the box. He split a pair of Spartan defenders and carried the ball into the box where he beat Spartan goalie Brad Schmidt (Moorestown, N.J./Delran) with a low, boring shot inside the right post. The goal was his second of the game and fifth of the season.
The Spartans had multiple chances in the later stages of the very physical contest. Ryan Phelps (North Beach, Md./Northern) had a one-on-one with Hoover but his shot from eight yards out was right at the Lion goalie who made the stop in the 78th minute of play.
York had another golden opportunity in the 91st minute when Greg Bechard (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) carried the ball down the left sideline and into the box. His cross traveled across the goal mouth only to trickle past the far right post with no other Spartan to boot the opportunity home.
The Green and White continued to pressure the Lions but Hoover and the Harrisburg defense stood tall. The win by PSU Harrisburg is their first win over York men's soccer in three previous meetings.
The Spartans finished the game with an 18-9 margin in total shots and a 7-4 margin in shots on goal. The Green and White also had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The Lions were whistled for 13 fouls to eight for the Spartans.
Hoover earned the win for Harrisburg as he made six saves in his 90 minutes of work. Schmidt suffered the loss in relief of injured starter Jack Pebole (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Regional). Pebole played the opening 11:02 of the game and allowed the first Lion goal. Schmidt played the final 78:58, registering two saves and allowing the goal.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they head to Fredericksburg, VA to face the Mary Washington Eagles in a conference contest. Game time at the Battleground Complex is slated for 2:00 pm.
Joel Teston photo courtesy of David Sinclair
