LYNCHBURG, Va. – The York College field hockey surrendered five goals in the second half to No. 13 Lynchburg College in a 5-2 loss on the road on Saturday afternoon.

The Spartans (5-3) looked dynamic in the first half as they racked up a 13-2 shot total and controlled a high percentage of the possession. York even managed to record the first goal of the contest, less than four minutes in when Ali Posey (Airville, Pa. / Red Lion) drove hard to the middle of the circle and dished off to Autumn Mallory (Leonardtown, Md. / Leonardtown) four her fourth goal of the season.

Despite hitting on nearly all cylinders offensively in the opening 35 minutes, the Spartans faced an opposing goalkeeper that refused to surrender more than one tally in the first half.

Hornet net minder Beka Hess played brilliantly and aggressively as she was under fire in the first half. Hess made all seven of her saves in the first stanza as she repeatedly cut down the angles by attacking the Spartan forwards and forcing them to change their shots.

A critical play that shifted the momentum to Lychburg (8-0) occurred in the in the final seconds of the first half when Hess turned a two-on-one opportunity for York on which she made a save on the initial shot and then again on the follow-up.

The Hornets used that momentum and capitalized quickly, scoring the equalizer 1:05 into the second half after the ball had initially deflected off a Spartan defender and found the stick of Catherine Rogerson on the backside of the play to knock it in.

Lynchburg tacked on the go-ahead goal less than two minutes later on just its fourth shot of the game. From that point on, the Hornets took control of the game and never let it go as they scored three more goals. The Hornets went a perfect five-for-five in shots on goal in the second half as they did not record one shot on goal in the first half.

Posey added a goal in the second half as she received a helper from Beth Patrick (Pitman, N.J. / Pitman). Posey now has 11 goals on the season as she leads the team and ranks second in the Capital Athletic Conference.

York finished the game with an 18-11 shot advantage and an 8-2 advantage in penalty corners.

The Spartans return to action on Wednesday when they return home to face Dickinson College at 4:30p.m.

Autumn Mallory photo courtesy of Derek Behrenshausen - Asst. Director of Athletic Communications