Box Score FROSTBRUG, Md. – The York College field hockey team held off a second-half surge by Frostburg State to claim a 4-3 Capital Athletic Conference victory on the road on Wednesday evening.
The Spartans (8-7, 2-3 CAC) held off an early barrage of shots by the Bobcats (8-7, 1-2) to open the first half as Spartan goalkeeper Eve Hauptle (Alexandria, Va. / West Potomac) saved all five shot attempts in the early minutes. York then flipped the field and transitioned down the field for a goal scored by Lindsay Nye (Duncannon, Pa. / Susquenita) for the game's first tally.
The Spartans gained some momentum from their first tally and scored again seven minutes later when Nye beat the goalie from the right side in a one-on-one for her second goal of the game.
The Bobcats cut the deficit to one goal in the 22nd minute, but York answered back on a penalty corner in the 26th minute when Ali Posey (Airville, Pa. / Red Lion) flipped a shot from the edge of the circle over the top of the FSU goalkeeper to push the lead back up to two goals.
Despite allowing a goal in the first half, the Spartans controlled the majority of the possession and generated more scoring opportunities as evidence of a 14-10 shot advantage and an 8-3 penalty corner advantage.
In the second half, the Bobcats shifted the momentum early as they caught a break when a rebound off a save kicked right back out in front of the cage and was played back in for a goal to cut the Spartan lead to 3-2. However, Nye answered quickly with her third goal of the game two minutes later to extend the lead to 4-2.
After Nye's third goal, Frostburg seemed determined to put another goal on the board and the Bobcats did just that, tallying a goal in the 54th minute to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Frostburg pressed hard in the final 15 minutes to try to notch the equalizer, but Hauptle came up with three saves down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Freshman defender Jennifer Morrissette (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg) also played a critical role in ensuring the victory as she came up with two enormous defensive saves on the day. The first save came in the first half when she denied a shooter of a sure goal in a one-on-one situation with an empty net behind her. The second save came midway through the second half when she sprinted back to make a diving swipe at a ball that was trickling towards the goal mouth after it had slipped past a sprawling Hauptle.
Morrissette now has 10 defensive saves on the year and needs one more to set a new single-season school record.
Hauptle finished the game with season-high 13 saves, surpassing her old single-game high of nine set last game.
The Bobcats produced an 18-17 shot advantage as all 18 of their shots went on goal. York owned a 13-4 margin in penalty corners.
With the win tonight, the Spartans move into fourth place in the CAC standings and move ahead of both St. Mary's and Frostburg, teams that they hold tiebreakers against for a potential playoff spot.
York closes out its conference schedule against Wesley, who ranked last in the CAC, on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
Lindsay Nye photo courtesy of Derek Behrenshausen – Asst. Director of Athletic Communications
