SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 12 York College women's lacrosse showed a lot of heart and courage, but in the end the Spartans ended up surrendering in a disappointing 10-7 loss to its conference nemesis No. 16 Salisbury on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium.

The Sea Gulls (2-2, 1-0 CAC) looked to set the tone early as they won the opening draw and wasted little time as Hannah Young tallied the first goal of the game at 1:29 into the contest.

The Spartans (4-2, 0-1) settled down after giving up the early goal and freshman goalie Charlotte Wright (Massapequa Park, N.Y. / Massapequa) made some big saves, including one on a free-position shot and gave her team boost of momentum.

Junior Allison Kolacy (Rockaway, N.J. / Morris Knolls) used some of that momentum as she tied game 1-1 with a wrap around shot that bounced over the goal line with 19:58 left in the first half. Kolacy kept on the offensive as she notched another goal to put the Spartans ahead 2-1 as she once again circled out from behind the net and this time finished with a low shot.

Salisbury countered and found a rhythm through the middle portion of the first half, scoring four straight goals through a four-minute span to take a 5-2 lead.

York had a chance to get one of those goals back on a free-position attempt with 6:40 left in the first half, but Salisbury's Gianna Falcone turned away Melissa Meehling (Monkton, Md. / Hereford) on the shot.

York had another free-position attempt two minutes later and this time the Spartans converted as Gina Bieneman (Baltimore, Md. / Institute of Notre Dame) finished with a high shot from close range as she moved in from the right side.

The Spartans had a prime opportunity to score with less than a minute to play in the first half to cut into the Salisbury lead before heading into the locker room. Lily Damalouji (Prince Frederick, Md. / Calvert) started down low on the right side of the net, beat her defender to the inside and ripped a shot from point blank range, but another great save by Falcone prevented a potential momentum shift for York and preserved the 5-3 lead for Salisbury heading into the break.

The Salisbury offense came out of the break and built up a huge wave of momentum as the Sea Gulls took a commanding 9-3 on four straight goals through the first 15:29 of the second half. Young, who scored the first goal of the game, ripped off three of Salisbury's first four goals to start the second half.

Damalouji stopped the bleeding for York as she sniped a shot to the upper corner of the net for her eighth goal of the season and York's fourth of the game. The freshman came right back on the next possession, just 1:18 later, and put another goal on the board after she won the draw control for York.

The back-to-back goals by Damalouji breathed some life back into the York offense as the Spartans won the next draw control, but Falcone stepped up big once again as she made two critical saves on next offensive possession for York.

However, York's persistence on offense would be rewarded. After getting a save in their defensive zone, the Spartans pushed the ball into their offensive zone and Kolacy scored her third goal of the game and cut the deficit to 9-6.

Kolacy's third goal came with 6:26 left to play, which left enough time for a possibility of a comeback for York. Unfortunately, Salisbury responded quickly by tacking on another goal one minute later and took a 10-6 lead with 5:26 left in the game.

With a 1:22 left, York kept the faint pulse of a comeback alive as Kolacy scored a career-high fourth goal to cut the deficit to three goals again. Karlie Dougherty (Baltimore, Md. / Mercy) won the ensuing draw control and rushed into the offensive zone, but a caused turnover and a successful clear attempt by Salisbury sealed the 10-7 victory for the Sea Gulls.

A huge part of Salisbury's success on the day was due to the stellar performance by its freshman goalie, Falcone, who turned away 11 of York's 23 total shots and had a number of critical stops throughout the day.

The Spartans will face Dickinson in their next game, which be held on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at Kinsley Field. 

Allison Kolacy photo courtesy of David Sinclair