YORK, PA – The York College men's lacrosse team picked up an impressive 10-8 non-conference win over Eastern University on a pleasant Saturday afternoon in York.

The Spartans even their record at 4-4 while the Eagles fall to 6-3. The win avenged a heartbreaking 10-9 Spartan loss to Eastern last March 26 in St. David's.

The Eagles jumped on the Spartans early as Desmond Decker got almost identical goals at the 12:47 mark and again at 9:59 to put Eastern up 2-0. Junior Andrew Gamble (Easton, Pa./Easton) got the Spartans on the board with an unassisted goal with 1:42 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Spartan offense got going in the second quarter. Freshman Matt Whitcher (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) tied the game at two with his first goal of the game 3:42 into the period. After David Darling gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead, York got goals from Tyler Hutson (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and Whitcher to take a 4-3 lead. The Eagles tied the game again on an Eric Waibel tally with 4:54 left in the half. Gamble notched his second goal of the game with 1:45 remaining on the clock, giving York a 5-4 halftime lead.

The Spartans pushed out to a 7-4 lead as Hutson found the back of the net 2:01 into the second half. Then junior captain Ben Jones (Baltimore, Md./Loch Raven) recorded his first career goal as he carried the ball into the offensive zone and ripped a rocket past Eastern goalie Nick DePiano.

The Eagles worked their way back into the game with back-to-back goals to end the third including a Decker goal with 32 seconds left in the quarter.

The Spartans got a Garrett Widlake (Catonsville, Md./Mount St. Joseph) goal to open the fourth quarter scoring as York took an 8-6 lead. Waibel and Decker tallied goals to tie the game at eight with 4:54 remaining in regulation.

With the momentum on the side of the Eagles, Hutson came up big when his team needed him the most. The senior All-American notched the game-winning goal as Dillon Hannah (Catonsville, Md./Catonsville) found him with a pass and Hutson rifled a shot home with 3:43 left in the game. Hutson provided a huge insurance goal just less than two minutes later as he banged home his fourth goal of the day to secure the victory.

Hutson led the Spartans with five points on four goals and an assist. He added two ground balls and a caused turnover in the victory. Gamble and Whitcher each added two goals for the Spartans while Jones and Widlake each contributed a goal for York.

Freshman defender Joey Fiorino (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) played well for York as he scooped up six ground balls and had one caused turnover while junior Conrad Ordakowski (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph) continued his strong play with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Sophomore Jake Katchmark (Centreville, Va./Westfield) went 15-for-22 at the X while he also had two ground balls in the win.

Decker led the Eagles as he had five points on four goals and an assist. Waibel added a pair of goals while David Darling and Jake Billera both had a goal and an assist.

Jordan Norris led the Eastern defense with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.

Caleb Abney (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) played all by 12 seconds in goal for the Spartans as he made 11 saves and allowed seven goals in his 59:48 of work. DiPiano made 14 saves and allowed all 10 Spartan goals in his 60 minutes of work.

The Spartans outshot the Eagles 44-30 while they also held a 25-19 advantage in ground balls. The Spartans won 15-of-22 at the X while they were nearly perfect in the clear as they were 21-of-23 for the game. The Spartans also did a much better job of taking care of the ball as the committed just 14 turnovers in the game.

York returns to action on Wednesday afternoon when they open Capital Athletic Conference play against Marymount University. First face off at Kinsley Field is set for 4:00 pm.

Tyler Hutson photo courtesy of Joe Rodgers