YORK, PA – The York College women's lacrosse team fell to Salisbury University 7-2 in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Saturday at Kinsley Field. The loss was the Spartans' fifth in the CAC Tournament title game to the Sea Gulls. Caitlin Rankin scored both goals for the top-seeded Spartans, both on free-position attempts, but York couldn't convert enough of their chances to keep pace with Salisbury. 

Records

#4 York: 14-3

#13 Salisbury: 13-5

Game Statistics

Shots: York 12, Salisbury 14

Shots on Goal: York 6, Salisbury 10

Saves: York 3, Salisbury 4

Draws Controlled: York 6, Salisbury 5

Ground Balls: York 9, Salisbury 11

Turnovers: York 12, Salisbury 8

Caused Turnovers: York 5, Salisbury 8

Free-Position Shots: York 2-for-6, Salisbury 0-for-1

Fouls: York 21, Salisbury 22

How it Happened:
• Salisbury never trailed in the game, scoring their first goal just 2:26 into the championship. Lindsay Wagner scored for the Sea Gulls. York had a quick response, though, leveling the score less than a minute later. Caitlin Rankin, who was dangerous all afternoon, scored for York on a free-position shot. The seesaw battle continued with Allison Hynson taking the lead back for Salisbury, just over two minutes before Rankin equalized again on a free-position shot.

• The two looked destined to head into the halftime break tied, but York turned the ball over while holding for the last shot. Salisbury quickly cleared then buried a counter-attacking opportunity with just four seconds left in the first half. The goal gave the Sea Gulls a 3-2 lead at the break, and proved to be a back-breaking few seconds for the Spartans.

• Salisbury doubled their advantage less than five minutes into the second half, stretching the lead to two, the largest of the game. Almost 15 minutes went by without either team scoring before Hynson scored again for Salisbury. York had multiple chances to get goals back, but just were unable to finish. The Sea Gulls added two more before the final buzzer, winning 7-2.

Spartan Leaders:

Caitlin Rankin: 2 goals, 2 points, 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers

Nicole Clauter: 3 draw controls, 1 caused turnover

Sea Gull Leaders: 
Kristen Murphy: 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points

Allison Hynson: 2 goals, 2 points

Dana King: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points

Goalie Comparision:
Charlotte Wright (YCP): 60:00, 7 goals against, 3 saves (L, 14-3)
Gianna Falcone (SU): 60:00, 2 goals against, 4 saves (W, 9-6)

Spartan Notes:
The Spartans are now 0-5 all-time in CAC Tournament championship games, falling to Salisbury in all of them … York is now 8-12 all-time in the CAC Tournament … after defeating the Sea Gulls earlier this year, the Green and White is just 1-18 all-time against Salisbury … the two goals scored are the lowest since 2009 (2, vs. Messiah, 3/10/09) … York entered the championship game averaging 12.56 goals per game … York has scored less than 10 goals just four times this year now, resulting in the Spartans' only three losses … Caitlin Rankin now has 11 goals this year, with eight of them coming in the last five games … she has scored two goals in three of the last four games and four times this season.

Up Next:
The Spartans will now dust themselves off for the NCAA Tournament. They almost definitely will be earning an at-large berth, which would make their sixth trip to the tournament in the last seven years.