Box Score YORK, Pa. – A new era of York College men's soccer began in winning fashion on Tuesday afternoon as the Spartans, under the direction of first-year head coach Evan Scheffey, opened their 2015 season with a 4-1 victory over Stevenson University at Graham Field.
The Spartans (1-0) came out strong on offense in the early part of the first half as they created multiple scoring chances to put the Mustangs (0-1) on their heals. York recorded six shots in the first 25 minutes of play and that pressure eventually led to a free kick opportunity for the Green and White. Junior Anthony Flores (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun Valley) took the free kick and curved a perfectly placed shot that hooked just inside the left post from 24 yards out for the first Spartan goal of the season.
York owned most of the possession and controlled the tempo throughout the first half as the Spartans produced a 10-2 shot advantage through the first 45 minutes.
The Green and White started the second stanza much like the first, creating opportunities, but falling just short of capitalizing on those chances. However, the Spartans stayed persistent and were rewarded for their efforts in the 67th minute when Chris Hobbs (Horsham, Pa. / Hatboro-Horsham) punched a low shot on frame from 28 yards out that found its way to the left corner of the net for the game's second goal.
York added a third unanswered goal to the board in the 82nd minute when Joel Teston (Manassas, Va. / Forest Park) played the ball into the middle to Greg Bechard (Newark, Del. / St. Mark's) who then one-touched a pass over to the left wing to the waiting foot of Nigel Robinson (Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) who finished for his first goal in a Spartan uniform.
The Mustangs broke their scoreless drought and the Spartan shutout in the 84th minute when a miscue in the York defense allowed Stevenson's Lorenzo Wright to position himself behind the Spartan backline and chip a shot into the goal from about 23 yards out.
York would answer back three minutes later when Christopher Saberton (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) crossed a pass from the left side of the end line to the right corner of the box where Bechard collected the pass and banged in his first goal of the season.
The Spartan defense, led on the backline by senior captain Ryan Donahue (York, Pa. / York Suburban) and in goal by junior captain Charlie Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin), held Stevenson, a team that averaged 13.1 shots per game last season, to just four total shots in today's contest. Johnson finished the game with two saves on three shots on goal.
Overall, coach Scheffey was pleased with his team's first outing of the season and how his team played to it's strengths.
"This was good for our confidence moving forward. We had plenty of good chances in the first half and couldn't capitalize, but we did a great job of staying disciplined in our style of play and our persistence was rewarded in the second half," said Scheffey. "The guys responded well to the challenges they faced and executed the adjustments we made at halftime. They learned how to manage a game and stay focused on our game plan, which is going to be huge for us moving forward."
The Spartans will return to the pitch on Friday as they host Gettysburg in a nonconference contest starting at 4:00 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Taylor Gamber
