YORK, Pa. – The 10th-ranked York College men's lacrosse team will be heading back to the Capital Athletic Conference title game for the second time in program history following today's 13-8 win at home against Christopher Newport in the CAC Tournament semifinal round.

The Basics: 

Game Number: 18

Site: Kinsley Field – York, Pa.

Records: York: 15-3 / Christopher Newport: 13-5

Series: York leads 6-1

How it happened:

• The two teams played to a 3-3 tie through one quarter of play as the teams alternated goals through the first 15 minutes of play. Hunter Davis tallied the first goal of the game, while Matt Whitcher and Nick Magnusson had the other two Spartan goals in the opening quarter.
• The Spartan defense silenced the Captain offense in the second quarter, while Dillon Hannah and Conrad Ordakowski put tallies on the board for York to give the Spartans a 5-3 lead heading into halftime.
• The Spartans opened up some breathing room in the third quarter with two more goals, beginning with Andrew Gamble, and then Brendan McGrath sent one home on the man-advantage late in the quarter.
• The Captains would not be shutout in the third quarter as Ryan Mills found the back of the net with 17 seconds left to cut the Spartan lead to 3 goals.
• Gamble opened the fourth quarter scoring just over a minute in, but CNU answered back with a pair of goals to cut the deficit to two goals.
• The duo of Davis and Whitcher once again stepped up for York as they tallied the next two goals and gave the Spartans a four-goal lead midway through the fourth.
• The Captains would cut the deficit to three goals with 5:36 left to play, but then back-to-back goals by Hannah and Joseph Joseph would put the game out of reach as the Spartans took a five-goal lead with 3:38 left on the clock.

Spartan Leaders:

Hunter Davis – 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists

Dillon Hannah – 3 goals

Josh Kluver – 3 caused turnovers

Billy Sasso – 8 ground balls, 9-for-16 on face-offs

Captain Leaders:

Matthew Crist – 4 points on 2 goals and 2 assists, 4 ground balls

Ryan Mills – 3 points on 2 goals 1 assist

Trevor Royce – 3 caused turnovers, 4 ground balls

Matt Hayden – 4 ground balls

Brandon Maloney – 4 ground balls

Shane Palmateer – 8-for-20 on face-offs

Goalie Comparison

Caleb Abney (YCP) – 56:19, 13 saves, 6 GA, 1 ground ball (Win, 14-2)

Matt Hayden (CNU) – 60:00, 14 saves, 13 GA, 1 caused turnover, 4 ground balls (Loss, 13-5)

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James Anderson (YCP) – 3:41, 1 save, 2 GA,

Game Notes

The Spartans advance to the CAC Championship Game for the second time in program history and the second time in the last three seasons … the championship game will be a rematch from 2014 as Salisbury will once again host the Spartans … York's 45 shots today is the ninth time this season with 40+ shots in a game … Abney once again recorded 13 saves just like he did last Saturday against CNU as he now has double-digit saves in five games this season … with today's win, Abney now has 50 wins for his career as he continues to extend his lead as the program's all-time wins leader … Davis tied his career-high with five points and set a new career-high with three assists as he eclipsed the 40-point mark for the season … Gamble extends his point streak to 18-straight games with his three points today to bring his season total to 50 … Hannah also kept his 18-game point streak in tact with four points today as he also eclipsed the 40-point mark for the season.

They Said It

"I thought our seniors played really well today, especially Andrew Gamble who forced himself into tough positions to create quality looks and made himself hard to defend. JoJo Joseph played so fast today in the middle and never let Christopher Newport get comfortable defensively, which opened things up for us late in the fourth quarter because CNU was gassed. In all, I thought there were a number of huge plays made by our older guys that shifted the momentum in our favor. We're excited to get this one and move on to the championship game." – Spartan Head Coach Brandon Childs

What's Next

York will travel to Salisbury next Saturday for the CAC title game at Sea Gull Stadium. Game time has yet to be determined.

Photo courtesy of Sam Casale