Box Score SALISBURY, MD – The second ranked Salisbury University Sea Gulls jumped out to an early lead and cruised from there as they downed fourth-ranked York College 15-5 in the championship game of the 2017 Capital Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday in Salisbury, Maryland.
The championship is the 20th CAC title for the Sea Gulls as the wrestled the trophy back after York downed the Gulls 10-9 in last year's championship game.
Records:
#4 York 16-3
#2 Salisbury: 17-1
Game Statistics:
Shots: York 31 / SAL 38
Shots on Goal: York 14 / SAL 24
Saves: York 9 / SAL 9
Face Offs Won: York 7 / SAL 16
Ground Balls: York 21 / SAL 41
Turnovers: York 13 / SAL 11
Caused Turnovers: York 5 / SAL 10
Man Up: York 2-for-6 / SAL 4-for-7
Penalties: York 8-for-9 minutes / SAL 9-for-7:30
How It Happened:
• Salisbury opened the scoring with a Nathan Blondino goal 2:09 into the game to put the Sea Gulls up early.
• Salisbury made it 2-0 with a Kevin McDermott goal with 9:18 left in the first quarter. The Spartans would be called for a slash on the play and the Sea Gulls made York pay. Adam Huber converted the man-up chance with a goal off a pass from Blondino as the lead grew to 3-0.
• Salisbury tallied two goals in the final three minutes of the quarter to take the 5-0 lead after the first 15 minutes of play.
• Things didn't get any better from York in the second quarter. Nick Garbarino scored the first three goals of the quarter covering a stretch of 5:14 seconds to push the lead to 8-0. The lead grew to 11-0 before Thomas Pfeiffer got the Spartans on the board with an unassisted goal with just 22 seconds left in the opening half.
• All-CAC midfielder Matt Whitcher opened the scoring in the second half with a goal off a pass from fellow All-CAC selection Cameron Leech just 51 seconds into the half. The game would go just under ten minutes with a goal but Salisbury got back-to-back man up goals to remove all doubt as the lead grew to 13-2. The two teams exchanged goals to end the quarter.
• Salisbury pushed the lead to a game-high 15-3 but the Spartans scored the final two goals of the game to provide for the final 15-5 margin of victory for Salisbury.
Spartan Leaders:
Thomas Pfeiffer: 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 ground ball
Brendan McGrath: 1 goal, 1 ground ball
Hunter Davis: 1 goal,
Matt Whitcher: 1 goal
Dillon Hannah: 1 goal
Cameron Leech: 2 assists
Billy Sasso: 7-for-23 at the X, 4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
Kevin Witchey: 2 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
Salisbury Leaders:
Nick Garbarino: 6 goals, 4 ground balls
Nathan Blondino: 3 goals, 5 assists, 2 ground balls
Adam Huber: 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 ground ball
Carson Kalama: 1 goal, 1 ground ball
Aaron Leeds: 5 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
Duncan Campbell: 11-for-18 at the X, 3 ground balls
Kyle Tucker: 3 ground balls, 4 caused turnovers
Goalie Comparison
Landry Marshall (YCP): 60:00 minutes, 15 goals against, 9 saves (Loss, 16-3)
Colin Reymann (SAL): 60 minutes, 5 goals against, 9 saves (Win, 17-1)
Game Notes:
The Spartans fall to 1-24 all-time against the Sea Gulls and 1-5 all-time against the Gulls in the CAC Tournament … York is now 1-2 in CAC Championship games (2014, 2016, 2017) … York entered the game leading the country in turnovers as they had committed an average of 11.94 turnovers per game but they committed 13 in the loss … Salisbury entered the game ranked 10th in the country in scoring defense at 6.53 goals per game … York was held to a season-low five goals in the loss … that is just the third time this year they have been held under double figures (8 vs. Lynchburg, 6 vs. Frostburg, 5 vs. Salisbury) … York posted 21 ground balls in the loss, their lowest total of the season … York entered the game averaging 35.7 ground balls per game … York allowed double digits in goals for just the third time this season with two of those games coming against Salisbury … sophomore Cameron Leech continues to increase his school record for assists as he had two more helpers in the loss … Leech now has 44 assists this season.
Up Next:
The Spartans will now await their fate in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans are poised to earn an at-large bid when the berths are announced on Sunday, May 7. York was ranked second in the most recent regional rankings, an indication that the Spartans are on solid footing for an at-large invitation.
