YORK, Pa. – The York College field hockey team defeated St. Mary's College 3-0 on Sunday at home in the first round of Capital Athletic Conference Championship Tournament and advances to the semifinals on Wednesday.

York (10-8) managed to tally a goal 30 minutes into the first half after St. Mary's (7-9) had owned the majority of the possession leading up to that point. Beth Patrick (Pitman, N.J. / Pitman) created the scoring opportunity as she drove to the end line on the left side of the cage, drew the attention of the defenders, and then slipped a pass to the middle where Paige Taylor (York, Pa. / Red Lion) knocked the ball into the back of the cage from close range.

The Spartans tilted the field in the second half as they controlled most of the possession in the period. York had more quality scoring opportunities and generated five shots on goal compared to two in the first half.

Patrick once again contributed to a Spartan goal as this time she did the honors by knocking in a loose ball rebound off the goalie pads. Lindsay Nye (Duncannon, Pa. / Susquenita) generated the scoring opportunity as she sent in a hard shot from the right side that kicked out to the middle where Patrick waited to collect the rebound. 

The Spartans received a third goal later in the second half on a penalty stroke by their leading scorer Ali Posey (Airville, Pa. / Red Lion). Posey is now four-for-five on the year in penalty strokes. She also moves into a tie for the second-most goals in a season in program history with 18 and a tie for third-most points with 41.

With the win, York improves to 6-1 all-time against St. Mary's in CAC postseason play as all six meetings have occurred in the opening round game.

The Spartans move on to face top-seeded and No. 11 nationally ranked Mary Washington in the CAC Tournament semifinals on Wednesday in Fredericksburg, Va. at 2:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Joe Rodgers