YORK, PA – The York College men's lacrosse team jumped out front early and cruised past Aurora University 16-2 in a non-conference matchup on Saturday at Kinsley Field, improving the fifth-ranked Spartans' record to 4-0. Brendan McGrath matched a school record of seven goals, including five consecutive in a span that stretched from the first to the second quarter.

Records

#5 York: 4-0

Aurora: 1-1

Game Statistics

Shots: York 49, Aurora 16

Shots on Goal: York 31, Aurora 9

Saves: York 7, Aurora 15

Face Offs Won: York 15, Aurora 7

Ground Balls: York 34, Aurora 23

Turnovers: York 8, Aurora 20

Caused Turnovers: York 10, Aurora 4

Man Up: York 0-for-1, Aurora 4-for-6

Penalties: York 1-for-0:30, Aurora 6-for-5:00

How it Happened:
• York flexed their offensive muscles early when, under two and a half minutes into the contest, Cameron Leech cut behind the goal, made a defender trip over the back of the net, and found Thomas Pfeiffer for the game's opening goal. Four minutes later, it was Pfeiffer finding Brendan McGrath for his first goal of the game to go up 2-0. York led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.

• McGrath's first goal of the game began a streak of five consecutive goals from the sophomore. Four minutes into the second quarter it was Joseph Joseph one-timing one to McGrath for another goal, to go up 5-0. Pfeiffer added his second goal on an extra-man opportunity when Austin Glab found him next to the goal, and he put a high shot past the goalie. Two minutes later, Pfeiffer scored again on an extra-man opportunity when Leech, from the point, found Pfeiffer close to the goal, where he again threw one high into the net. Leech, from his dangerous spot behind the net, found Glab up top, who launched one to make it 9-0. The dish was Leech's fourth assist of the first half. Eleven seconds of game later, at the 2:38 mark, both teams were forced into the locker room for one hour and 55 minutes due to dangerous weather. York dominated the ball for large portions of the first half, triggered by Billy Sasso's tremendous play at the X. Sasso went 9-for-11 at the X before the delay.

• York was able to keep the momentum when play resumed, scoring a goal under three minutes into the third quarter. Aurora was called for a penalty, but Matt Whitcher continued and threw one in from the point. Less than a minute later, while enjoying an extra-man opportunity off of that penalty, McGrath fired home another, his sixth of the game. There was a scrum just in front of the goal, and McGrath wound up with the ball and was able to quickly release his shot.

• Aurora got on the board with 7:11 remaining in the third, but York added two more before the end of the quarter, thanks to shots from Glab and Hunter Davis. McGrath scored another and Shane Brookhart concluded the scoring with three minutes left, giving York a 16-2 victory.

Spartan Leaders:
Brendan McGrath: 7 goals, 7 points, 9 shots on goal, 3 ground balls
Thomas Pfeiffer:  4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points, 7 shots on goal, 3 caused turnovers, 2 ground balls
Cameron Leech: 5 assists, 5 points
Austin Glab: 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, 4 shots on goal, 1 ground ball

Billy Sasso: 12-of-18 at the X, 7 ground balls

Spartan (Aurora) Leaders: 
Jason Koziol: 2 goals, 2 points, 2 shots on goal, 1 ground ball
Trevor McNamara: 4 ground balls, 6 shots, 3 shots on goal
Matt Sammarco: 1 assist, 1 point, 2 shots

Goalie Comparision:
Landry Marshall (YCP): 54:33 minutes, 2 goals against, 7 saves (W, 4-0)
Jake White (YCP): 5:27 minutes, 0 goals against
Tyler Lombardi (AU): 45:00 minutes, 14 goals against, 9 saves (L, 1-1)
Brian Richter (AU): 15:00 minutes, 2 goals against, 6 saves

Spartan Notes:
The meeting with the Aurora University Spartans is the first in school history … York has started 4-0 for the second consecutive season, after starting 7-0 last year … Brendan McGrath's seven goals ties the single game school record held by Adam Cross (Misericordia, 4/12/05) and Tyler Hutson (Christopher Newport, 3/30/13, Marymount, 3/25/15) … McGrath also set career highs of 13 shots, two man-up goals and matched a career-high seven points … Cameron Leech set career-highs of points (five) and assists (five) … his five assists in one game is tied for second in school history, behind Andrew Gamble (Misericordia, 3/26/13) who had six … Hunter Davis set a career-high of two caused turnovers … Christopher Lees picked up a career-high three ground balls … Landry Marshall's seven saves tied his career high, set earlier this year against Eastern … Thomas Pfeiffer's five points matches a career high, and set career highs of four goals, eight shots and three caused turnovers … Nick Roman matched career-high three ground balls … Kevin Witchey set a career-high five ground balls.

He said it:
"In my six years here, that was the most we've ever stuck to our game plan," head coach Brandon Childs said. "Our guys really executed what the plan was, which was to have disciplined possessions, which resulted in goals.

"Aurora is very talented on offense, so it was important that we didn't turn the ball over and made our offensive possessions count," said Childs.

After Brendan McGrath's historic day, the sixth-year coach pointed to the sophomore's willingness to battle: "What I like most about Brendan has nothing to do with scoring goals, he rides really hard and gets us ground balls in the offensive end, resulting in extra possessions for us."

On Billy Sasso and Ryan Powers' success on face offs: "Today was the first real test at the X and our guys handled it well. They're both great lacrosse players, and are both able to scrap and grab loose balls for us, giving us more possessions that way."

Up next:
The Spartans will stay at home to host Lynchburg on Saturday, March 4. The matchup is set to begin at 1 p.m in the One Love Foundation Game. York is playing the Hornets for just the second time in school history, after losing last year 9-7 in a neutral site game.