Box Score YORK, PA – St. Mary's Zach Fontenot made the Seahawks only shot on goal count as he notched the game-winning goal in the 96th minute of play as St. Mary's upset the second seeded York College Spartans 1-0 in overtime on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in York.
The Seahawks, who are the sixth seed in the CAC tournament, advance to face top-seeded Salisbury in the conference championship game on Saturday. Ironically, the Seahawks came to York last Wednesday not knowing if they would even qualify for the conference tournament. A trio of forfeits from Frostburg State University for using an illegal player and a 2-0 win over York last Wednesday got the Seahawks into the tournament. What they have done since is go 2-0 on the road in advancing to the conference championship game.
St. Mary's improves to 9-8-2 overall while the Spartan campaign concludes with a mark of 9-8-2 under first year head coach Evan Scheffey.
Fontenot's goal came after the Seahawks had a goal kick that floated into the Spartan defensive third. Fontenot pressured York and got the loose ball. He floated a shot over Spartan goalie Charlie Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and a St. Mary's dog pile ensued outside the box with 4:51 left in the first overtime.
Much of the game felt like it was only a matter of time until the Seahawks would wilt under the constant Spartan pressure. Unfortunately for York, the Seahawks continued to yield shots but nothing found the back of the net as York finished the season with back-to-back shutout losses to the Seahawks.
The game was played a frenetic pace early with both teams attacking and counter attacking. The Seahawks took the opening kickoff and created a great early chance with Johnson snuffing out the chance before Fontenot could fire off a shot.
After the opening five minutes, the Spartans started to control the tempo. York had a pair of direct kicks and four corners over a 15 minute stretch but were unable to capitalize. The first kick came just outside the left hand side of the box. Anthony Flores' (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun Valley) kick bounced into the box, rattled around and came out the other side as the Seahawks dodged a bullet. York had a second direct kick from 21 yards out but the Ryan Okford (Langhore, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) shot was blocked in the box.
York continued to apply the pressure to the St. Mary's defense but the Spartans shots either found the belly of Seahawk keeper Zack Haussler or just missed frame.
The Spartans outshot the Seahawks 13-4 in the opening 45 minutes including 6-0 in shots on goal.
The second half was much of the same as York continued to press the St. Mary's defense. York displayed crisp passing and had the majority of the possession. However, the longer the Spartans kept St. Mary's in the game, the momentum slowly crept to the side of the Seahawks.
The Spartans had a corner kick 3:06 into overtime but the resulting shot was high. The resulting goal kick eventually led to the Seahawk victory.
York outshot St. Mary's 24-9 in the loss while they held an 8-1 margin in shots on goal. York also had a 9-3 margin in corner kicks.
Haussler earned his second straight shutout over York as he notched eight saves in the victory as he improves to 7-5-2. Johnson suffered the loss as he allowed the one goal in his 95:09 of work.
The Spartans entered the season with a 17-match win streak over St. Mary's but the Seahawks have now won two straight in the span of eight days at Graham Field.
The Spartans will say a fond farewell to seven seniors with the loss. Ryan Donahue (York, Pa./York Suburban), Brendan Saberton (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum), Christopher Saberton (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum), Greg Bechard (Newark, Del./St. Mark's), Peter Lundgaard (Greenville, Del./Salesianum), Chris Lievendag (Fallston, Md./Fallston), and Scott Ashbridge (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) were a part of two Capital Athletic Conference championships and played in a pair of CAC tournaments. The senior class combined to post 53 wins including 22 CAC victories during their careers.
Greg Bechard photo courtesy of Joe Rodgers-Five Star Media
