Box Score ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The York College men's lacrosse opened their 2016 campaign with a 9-2 road win at Olson Field at Eastern University on Wednesday afternoon in St. Davids, PA. The Spartans got a pair big performances from freshman Hunter Davis and senior Andrew Gamble while the defense led by goalie Caleb Abney was fantastic. The Spartans are now 1-0 overall while the Eagles are 0-1.
How it happened:
• Freshman Hunter Davis began his Spartan career with a goal less than four minutes into the game as he scored off a pass from fellow freshman Cameron Leech, giving York the 1-0 lead.
• The Spartans scored the first four goals of the game to push out to a 4-0 lead before Eastern got a man-up goal with 7:04 left in the second quarter.
• York got a Dillon Hannah goal 2:22 before the half to give York a 5-1 lead at the break.
• York senior Andrew Gamble tallied back-to-back goals in a 2:23 span to push York's lead to 8-1.
• Davis got the Spartans' final goal of the day with 6:04 left in the fourth quarter, making it a 9-1 lead.
• Davis scored the first goal of each quarter as he finished the day with four goals and an assist for five points.
• Senior goalie Caleb Abney was brilliant as he did not allow a goal in 46:54 of play.
Spartan Leaders:
Hunter Davis: 4 Goals, 1 Assist, 5 Points
Andrew Gamble: 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 4 Points, 2 Caused Turnovers, 3 Ground Balls
Dillon Hannah: 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Points, 2 Ground Balls, 2 Caused turnovers
Joey Fiorino: 3 Caused Turnovers, 1 Ground Balls
Eagle Leaders:
Tyler Gehlhaus: 1 Goal, 1 Point, 2 Ground Ball, 3 Caused Turnovers
Mark Buannic: 1 Goal, 1 Point, 3 Ground Ball
Matt Lee: 10-for-14 Face offs, 1 Ground Ball
Goalie Comparison
Caleb Abney (YCP) – 7 Saves, 0 GA, 45:54
James Anderson (YCP) – 2 Saves, 2 GA, 13:06
Jameal Hadeed (EU) – 13 Saves, 9 GA, 60:00
Game Notes:
• York College played its first game without all-time leading scorer Tyler Hutson. Hutson graduated last spring as the leader in points (286), goals (206), assists (80), man up goals (28), game-winning goals (15).
• Both schools are among schools receiving votes in the 2016 USILA/Nike Preseason Poll
• Eastern has won four straight MAC Freedom Conference championships and they were selected as the preseason favorite in the conference.
• York was selected as to finish third in the CAC behind Salisbury (64 pts) and Frostburg State (55) points. York picked up 48 points in the poll, four in front of number four Christopher Newport.
• The win for Caleb Abney is his 36th career victory. He ranks first on the Spartans' all-time goalie's win's list.
• York outshot Eastern 33-17 while the Eagles had a 24-21 edge in ground balls.
• York improves to 9-8 all-time in their 17 season-openers.
• York is now 3-8 in openers on the road as they had lost their last three in a row.
• York is now 4-1 in the five season openers under head coach Brandon Childs.
• Childs now has 49 wins as the Spartan head coach as he starts his fifth season at the helm of the program.
• The Spartans lead the all-time series against Eastern 3-1. York has now won two straight after the Eagles beat the Spartans 10-9 two years ago in St. Davids.
They Said It:
"I thought we were very organized and confident on defense which was great to see the first time out this year. Caleb made some fantastic saves early on in the game and that got us in a groove defensively. We did a great job of picking up ground balls in our defensive end. On offense, we had good long disciplined possessions but we were a little sloppy with some unforced errors. I thought Hunter Davis did a great job of changing his shot locations and making their goalie's job a little harder. We need to get better at the X and on the wings and those are things we will work on moving forward." – Spartan head coach Brandon Childs
What's Next
York returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Washington & Jefferson to York for the Spartans' 2016 home opener. First face off from Kinsley Field is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
Photo courtesy of Sam Casale
