AMHERST, Mass. – The No. 14 York College women's lacrosse team saw the 2016 season come to an end on Sunday with a 12-7 defeat at No. 8 Amherst in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Championship. After leading 4-3 at halftime, Amherst used a six-goal run to start the second half to open a 10-3 lead and then held off a spirited comeback effort by the Spartans to preserve the win.

The Basics: 

Game Number: 19

Site: Pratt Field – Amherst, Mass.

Records: Amherst 13-4 / York 12-7

Series: Amherst leads 2-0

How it happened:

• Amherst opened the scoring as Hanna Krueger cut through the middle and finished low with a shot form just in front of the crease.
• Rachel Saks answered back on York's ensuing possession as she beat the goalie to the upper right corner on a tough-angle shot from the far right wing.
• Katelyn Cattrano put York up 2-1 early in the first half on a well-executed turnaround shot from the close left wing as she slipped a shot just inside the left pipe.
• Krueger once again put a tally on the board for Amherst as she converted on a free-position shot and tied the game 2-2 with 11:46 left in the first half.
• Shortly after Krueger's second goal, Amherst took a 3-2 lead as Mia Haughton scored from a tough angle on the left side in transition following a Spartan turnover on a clear attempt.
• York responded to tie the score 3-3 with 8:44 left in the first half as Melissa Meehling spun around her defender in the middle and finished low.
• Amherst broke the tie with 2:19 left in the first half as Claire Cagnassola split a few defenders in the middle and finished low for the go-ahead goal.
• York finished the first half 0-for-2 on free-position shots, while Amherst went 1-for-2 in the half.
• After a closely-contest first half, the game quickly got of hand for York when Amherst ripped off six-straight goals in the first seven minutes of the second half. Amherst won four of the six draw controls during that span.
• Saks broke the scoring drought for Spartans as she tallied her second goal of the game with a tough-angle shot through a defender from the left wing.
• Saks again found the back of the net as she scored on the very next Spartan possession for her third tally of the day and cut the deficit to 11-5 with 10:08 left to play.
• Allison Kolacy came through with back-to-back tallies to make it four-straight goals for York as she and her teammates refused to go away without a fight. Kolacy's two tallies cut the Amherst lead to 11-7 with 6:48 left to play.
• Amherst won the ensuing draw control following Kolacy's second tally and ran nearly three minutes off the clock before relinquishing possession back to York. The Spartans managed record three shots in the final three minutes, but simply ran out of time at the end to mount one final comeback.

York Leaders:

Rachel Saks – 3 goals, 3 ground balls

Allison Kolacy – 2 goals

Melissa Meehling – 2 points on 1 goal and 1 assist

Megan Strauch – 4 ground balls, 4 draw controls

Amherst Leaders:

Mia Haughton – 4 points on 3 goals and 1 assist

Hanna Krueger – 3 goals

Coco Kusiak – 3 points on 1 goals and 2 assists, 2 caused turnovers, 2 ground balls

Claire Cagnassola – 2 points, five ground balls, 4 draw controls, 1 caused turnover

Goalie Comparison

Christry Forrest (AC) – 60:00 min, 10 saves, 7 GA, 3 ground balls, Win (13-4)

Rachel Donovan (YCP) – 54:40 min, 2 saves, 7 GA, 3 ground balls, 1 caused turnover, Loss (9-6)

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Charlotte Wright (YCP) – 5:20 min, 2 saves, 5 GA

Game Notes:

Rachel Saks tied her career-high with three goals on the day … in the first 7:02 of the second half, Amherst used a 6-0 scoring run to go from a 4-3 lead to a 10-3 lead … during that run, Amherst compiled an 8-1 shot advantage, a 4-2 advantage in draw controls and a 4-0 advantage in ground balls … York went on a four-goal run in the later part of the second half during which the Spartans needed just five shots to record their four tallies … the Spartans put 17 of their 22 shots on goal for a shot-on-goal percentage of 77.3 on the day … Amherst put 16 of 20 shots on goal for a shot-on-goal percentage of 80.0 … York committed just eight turnovers, which marks the 10th game this season with less than 10 turnovers … York ranks third in the nation with just 10.78 turnovers per game … Amherst goalkeeper Christy Forrest played a big factor in the outcome of the contest as she denied York of numerous opportunities, including four free-position attempts, as recorded a total of 10 saves … Amherst finished with a 10-4 advantage in saves while the teams were even in almost every other statistical category … York set a program single-season record with a goals-against average of 5.95 and has had a top-10 scoring defense throughout the season.

Spartan Senior Notes:

Allison Kolacy finishes her career tied for 7th on the program's career scoring list with 110 points on 47 goals and 63 assists as her 63 assists ranks 2nd all-time … Megan Strauch finishes her career 2nd in ground balls with 163, 3rd in caused turnovers with 93, 5th in draw controls with 128 and 2nd in both games played and games started with 74 … Rachel Donovan finishes 2nd in career goals-against average (5.91), 4th in career wins with 15, 4th in career save percentage (.434) and set the new singe-season goals-against average record with a mark of 5.85 this season … Brittany Noell finishes her career with 74 total points on 72 goals and two assists, and finishes tied for 4th with seven game-winning goals for her career ... this senior class compiled an overall record of 56-23, with a record of 23-6 in Capital Athletic Conference games ... these seniors have played in three CAC Chamionship Games and have made four appearances in the NCAA Championhip Tournament.

Photo courtesy of Joe Rodgers