Box Score YORK, Pa. – The York College men's soccer team lost a tough game on Tuesday afternoon at Graham Field, falling to the Messiah College Falcons 1-0 in non-conference play.
The Falcons improve to 4-2-1 on the season while the Spartans drop to 2-5-1. All five Spartan losses this year have come by one goal.
Offensively, the Spartans were passing very well and creating scoring chance after scoring chance in the first half. Christopher Saberton (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) stole the show for the Spartan offense. In the 18th minute Saberton attempted a bicycle kick from the top of the 18-yard box but the ball went just wide to the left. In the 26th minute Saberton tried to put some touch on a shot from about 30 yards out but it went right to the Messiah goalkeeper Jonathan Weaver. Just minutes later, Saberton unleashed a shot from about the same distance but Weaver made a fantastic sprawling save to thwart Saberton's effort.
Messiah got their share of chances on goal in the first half but their best chance came late in the first half when Colby Thomas intercepted an errant pass and dribbled up the right side and into the box. Ryan Ockford (Langhorne, Pa. / Holy Ghost Prep) was able to follow him step-for-step however and made a great sliding tackle to prevent Thomas from getting a cross off. Tony Mosqueira (Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) played very physically and was able to stop a few Messiah fast-breaks as well. Despite both teams getting some great chances in the first half, the game entered halftime scoreless.
Messiah finally broke through in the 51st minute as Will Cochran sent a cross into the box that landed on the foot of Danny Rowe who booted in the go-ahead goal for the Falcons. The tally was his fifth goal of the season.
The Spartans kept on fighting as Mosqueira sent a cross into the box in the 58th minute to Nigel Robinson (Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) who missed a running header. Robinson got another chance in the 62nd minute when he found some space and fired a rocket from about 25 yards out to the top left corner of the goal but again, Weaver was up to the task with another fantastic save. In the end, the Spartans just couldn't find a way to finish their chances as they were shutout for the third time this year.
Despite taking the loss, Spartan goalkeeper, Charlie Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) made some incredible saves including a one-handed diving catch save in the 89th minute to keep the score at 1-0. Weaver made nine saves and earned the win to improve to 4-1-1 on the season.
York held a 16-12 advantage in total shots and a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal. Messiah conceded four corner kicks and committed five fouls, including one yellow card, while York conceded three corners with 12 total fouls.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday as they travel to Salisbury to battle the Sea Gulls at 2:00 pm. It is the Capital Athletic Conference opener for both squads.
Story written by Will Wallace – Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Chris Saberton photo courtesy of David Sinclair
