Box Score GETTYSBURG, PA – The York College women's lacrosse team made history on Saturday afternoon as the Spartans outlasted the Gettysburg Bullets 8-7 in a wild Sweet 16 game in Gettysburg.
The Spartans tied the school for wins in a season as they are now 15-5 overall. The Bullets, who are ranked fifth in the country, see their outstanding campaign come to a close at 16-4.
The Spartans now advance to their first Elite Eight game as they are one win away from earning a Final Four berth. It is also the first win over a top ten team in program history and the first win against Gettysburg.
The game could not have ended in a more bizarre fashion. The Spartans turned the ball over with 54.6 seconds left in regulation as they held a slim 8-7 lead. The Bullets worked the ball around before Katie Landry drove her way into the front of the Spartan goal with around 10 seconds left on the clock. Spartan goalie Rachel Donovan (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) stoned her on the first attempt. Landry picked up the ground ball and put what looked like to be the game-tying goal home with 6.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
After a lengthy conference between the officials, and eventually the head official and the coaches, the goal was waved off as multiple Gettysburg players dropped their sticks after the goal which negated the post-goal stick check and, therefore, the game-tying goal.
The Spartans got possession and were able to run out the clock and earn their first trip to the Elite Eight.
The game did not start out well for the Spartans as the Bullets won the draw to begin the contest. After the Bullets ran some offense, senior Mandy Buell sliced down the heart of the Spartan defense and beat Donovan high for the first goal of the game just 45 seconds into the game.
The Spartans responded just over two minutes later as Jayme Verman (York, Pa./Lancaster Country Day) slid a pass past a charging Gettysburg goalie Shannon Keeler and freshman Lily Damalouji (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) converted into the wide open net as York tied the game at one.
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead with 25:41 left in the first as senior Sarah Castle (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian) converted a free position attempt for her 100th career goal.
The Bullets drew even at two when Abby Baigelman banged home a shot over Donovan's shoulder with 20:50 remaining in the opening half of play. The Bullets took a 3-2 lead on a coast-to-coast fast break off a missed Spartan shot. Kate Higgins picked up the ground ball, chucked it ahead to Bridget Kenny who drove to the Spartan goal before dishing off a pass to Maggie Connolly who converted the opportunity to give Gettysburg the 3-2 advantage. The Bullets got a Baigelman free position goal at the 14:50 mark, pushing the Gettysburg lead to 4-2.
Freshman Melissa Meehling (Monkton, Md./Hereford) drew York to within one on a great individual effort. Meehling took a pass on the right wing, beat a defender and then fired in a harsh angle shot, inside the right post to cut the Gettysburg lead to 4-3.
York then got a stop after a two and a half minute possession by the Bullets was culminated in a Donovan stop of Connolly free position attempt with 3:45 left in the first. That stop proved to be huge as the Green and White came down and responded with a free position shot of their own. Meehling recorded her second straight goal off the free position chance to tie the game at four with 2:28 left in the opening half.
Gettysburg recaptured the lead early in the second half as they got a turnover and raced down into the Spartans defensive third. Macauley Mikes carried the ball into the fan, drew a defender and fed the ball to Baigelman who deposited the ball into the back of the net for the 5-4 lead.
Castle tied the game for the fourth time as she scored on a Kelly Curran (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) feed off a free position shot with 25:59 remaining in regulation. It wouldn't take the Bullets long to respond as Buell cashed out her second goal of the game to give Gettysburg a 6-5 lead.
In keeping with the theme of back-and-forth scoring, York tied the game for a fifth time as sophomore Katelyn Cattrano (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) picked up a rebound off a Castle shot and slammed home the loose ball for her 22nd goal of the year. Cattrano's goal came 31 seconds after Buell's goal put the Bullets up 6-5.
After a five minute scoring lull, York took a 7-6 lead when Verman drove her way to the cage and finished in front of the crease to give York the advantage. The Spartans had a chance to add on less than a minute later but Keeler stoned Damalouji on the doorstep to maintain the Bullet deficit at one with just under 18 minutes left in regulation.
After a nearly four minute York possession, the Bullets forced a turnover and charged into their offensive third. A York foul gave Baigelman a free position chance with 7:44 left in regulation. The Spartans drew a charging foul, dodging the outstanding Bullets' opportunity.
Baigelman got a second chance at a free position shot just under three minutes later and this time she wasn't going to miss as she converted the shot for her fourth goal of the game, tying the contest at seven with 4:31 left in regulation. The Spartans had held the high-flying Gettysburg offense scoreless for 20:14 of the second stanza before Baigelman nailed the free position attempt.
York recaptured the lead for good on a beautiful give-and-go as Allison Kolacy (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) fed Castle for the go-ahead goal with 2:23 left in regulation.
After a mad scramble, the Spartans won the ensuing draw before turning it over to the Bullets inside the last minute, setting the stage for the wild scene at the end of the game.
Spartan head coach Jen Muston was overjoyed with the victory for the Green and White.
"I couldn't be more excited," said Muston. "We had a specific game plan and our kids stuck to it for 60 minutes. We told them all along that we were going to have to gut this one out and we did it. I am just so proud of this team. They stuck together the whole time. They never strayed from the scout and the game plan. I am just really proud. They are doing a great job."
Castle led the Spartans with three goals while she also had a draw control for York. Meehling added a pair of goals while Verman also had a pair of points on a goal and an assist. Damalouji and Cattrano closed out the York scoring. Spartan All-Americans Karlie Dougherty (Baltimore, Md./Mercy) and Megan Strauch (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) led a stellar Spartan defensive effort as the Bullets were held seven goals below their season average of 14. Dougherty had four draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover while Strauch had two draw controls and a caused turnover in the victory.
Donovan was great when she had to be as the junior netminder recorded four saves in her 60 minutes in cage for York. She improves to 5-2 for the season.
Baigelman led the Bullets, as she was outstanding with four goals on just four shots including a pair of free position tallies. Buell ended her outstanding career with two goals on just three shots. Connolly scored Gettysburg's other goal in the game.
Connolly led the Bullets with three draw controls while Christina Wright notched a team-high two caused turnovers.
Keeler absorbed the loss for the Bullets as she allowed all eight goals and recorded six saves. She finishes the year 16-4.
The Spartans outshot the Bullets 23-15 while Gettysburg held a slight 10-9 margin in ground balls. The Spartans held an 11-6 margin in draw controls. The Spartans had two more turnovers in the game as they had 11 miscues.
Muston was happy to see Castle get the game-winner for the Green and White.
"Sarah plays with such great heart," said Muston. "That really shows in the way she gives effort and sticks it out in tough times. She just plays with heart and hustle and you can't teach that. That is also what is going to come through in games like this. That's why we want her on the field."
When asked about tomorrow's opponent, Muston was clear that she wants the Spartans to savor this victory.
"I want our kids to enjoy this win," said Muston. "We will gather tonight and go over the scout. Whoever we are playing, we feel very confident about the way we are playing and in our team. In the NCAA Tournament, everyone is in the same boat. We both will play back-to-back and both play tough first round games. Whoever can gut it out and be the tougher team will be the team who moves on to the Final Four."
York will face the winner of the Saturday's second game as Middlebury and Hamilton square off to see who will play York with a berth in the Final Four on the line. Sunday's regional final is set for a 2:30 pm start.
Photo courtesy of David Sinclair
