HARRISONBURG, Va. – The York College field hockey team hit the road for the first time this season and the end result remained the same as York improves to 4-0 following a 5-0 victory over Eastern Mennonite on Saturday afternoon.

It was a dominating performance on both ends of the field as York (4-0) matched its highest single-game goal total of the season and secured its second shutout on the year.

The Spartans jumped on Eastern Mennonite (0-4) early and often in the first half of play as freshman Shania Gelvin (Hustontown, Pa./Forbes Road) tallied her second and third goals of the season to give the Green and White a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

York did not waste any time adding to its lead in the second half as junior Holly Martin (Hanover, Pa./South Western) notched her second goal of the season and gave the Spartans a 3-0 lead just over two minutes into the second half.

YCP tacked on two more insurance goals midway through the second half, both by freshman Ali Posey (Airville, Pa./Red Lion) who beat the goalie from the left side and then cleaned up a loose ball rebound in front of the cage. Posey now leads the team with five goals and 12 points on the season.

After not recording a single shutout last year, the Spartan defensive unit, led by seniors Katie Petrillo (Howell, N.J./Freehold Township) and Nancy Saylor (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central), displayed its prowess today as it recorded its second shutout in four games this season.

Petrillo played a key role in securing the shutout as she recorded a career-high two defensive saves, while Saylor turned in an impressive performance as she snuffed out numerous EMU scoring chances and played a big part of shutting down the Royal offense in the second half.

Freshman Jessica Everett (Windsor, Pa./Red Lion) improves to 4-0 in goal for York as she made two saves and collected her second clean sheet of the season.

York finished the game out-shooting Eastern Mennonite 28-14, while the Royals held a 9-5 advantage in penalty corners.

Through four games, York has out-shot it's opponents 106-39, good for an average of 26.5 shots per game compared to it's opponents average of 9.8 shots per game. Out of that high volume of shots, the Spartans have managed to out-score it's opponents 15-3.

The Spartans are off to their first 4-0 start since 2001 and have already matched their season win total from a year ago.

York will look to continue it's winning ways as the team hits the road again Wednesday for a game against Dickinson at 4:00 p.m.

Holly Martin Photo Courtesy of Joe Rodgers