Box Score YORK, PA – The York College women's lacrosse team got a Meghan Fox goal with 20.5 seconds left in regulation to lift the Spartans to a 5-4 win over St. John Fisher in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Division III tournament. The Spartans now advance to the Sweet 16 where they will face off against Messiah on Saturday, May 20.
The Spartans also received a career-high 14 saves from junior goalie Charlotte Wright including a big save on a free position shot inside the final five minutes of regulation.
Records:
#11 York (Pa.): 15-3
#18 St. John Fisher: 15-5
Game Stats
Shots: York 15 / SJF 22
Shots on Goal: York 10 / SJF 18
Ground Balls: York 7 / SJF 10
Draw Controls: York 6 / SJF 5
Clears: York 15-for-16 / SJF 13-for-14
Saves: York 14 / SJF 5
Turnovers: York 10 / SJF 5
Caused Turnovers: York 3 / SJF 4
Free Position Shots: York 0-for-4 / SJF 1-for-6
Fouls: York 17 / SJF 23
Spartan Leaders
Meghan Fox: 2 goals, 1 ground ball
Melissa Meehling: 2 goals
Rachel Saks: 2 assists, 1 ground ball
Caitlin Rankin: 1 goal, 3 ground balls
Erin Mensch: 2 caused turnovers
Nicole Clauter: 4 draw controls
Kelly Curran: 1 assist
Cardinal Leaders
Cori Holbrook: 1 goal 1 draw control
Claire Bollin: 1 goal, 1 ground ball, 2 draw controls
Jordan Johnson: 1 goal, 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover
Maria Hristodoulou: 1 goal
Abbie Reed: 2 ground balls, 1 draw control, 1 caused turnover
Goalie Comparison
Charlotte Wright (YCP): 60:00 minutes played, 4 goals against, 14 saves (Win, 15-3)
Morgan Hayes (SJF): 60:00 minutes played, 5 goals against, 5 saves (Loss, 7-1)
How It Happened:
• York opened the scoring just 1:58 into the game as Rachel Saks hit a cutting Meghan Fox right down the middle and Fox finished the chance for the 1-0 Spartan lead.
• York made it 2-0 when Melissa Meehling found the back of the net off a feed from Saks with 27:08 left in the first half.
• St. John Fisher got on the board with a free position goal from Claire Bollin with 15:54 left in the opening half of play. Maria Hristodoulou tied the game a mere 1:44 later as she scored an unassisted goal with 13:38 left in the half.
• Meehling gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead with an unassisted goal with 6:50 remaining in the opening half. Meehling bounced the shot into the goal to give York the lead.
• Caitlin Rankin opened the second half scoring as she found the back of the net off a nice ball fake and shot. Rankin's goal came 3:27 into the second half.
• Fisher's Jordan Johnson, the Cardinals' leading scorer who is ranked 12th in the nation in points, finally got on the board as she broke free from the straightjacket defense of Alyssa Rankin to record her 57th goal of the year. Johnson's goal came on her first shot of the game with 25:15 left in the second half. Rankin had held Johnson without a shot in the first half.
• The game would be back and forth over the next 18 minutes of play as both defenses were stout. The Cardinals finally tied the game with 7:21 left in the game. Cori Holbrook snuck in a shot, her 37th goal of the year, as St. John Fisher tied the game.
• The Cardinals won the ensuing draw control and then drew a pair of free position shots. The first one came from Bollin as Wright made the stop with 5:15 left in the game. Bollin got another chance on the free position but Wright stoned Bollin again, keeping the game tied.
• Johnson drew a free position shot with 2:52 left in the game. Johnson entered the game 6-of-10 for the year on the free position but Wright made another huge save as she denied Johnson the go-ahead goal.
• The Spartans cleared the ball after a timeout and then got a huge call with 1:38 left as Holbrook was given a yellow card after checking Devin Hursey in the head. After the penalty, the Cardinals went all out by doubling the ball. The Spartans looked uneasy handling the pressure but they eventually pushed the ball to the center of the field. Senior Kelly Curran found Fox in front of the goal and the CAC Rookie-of-the-Year finished the one-timer for her 37th goal of the year with 20.5 seconds left in regulation. The goal was Fox's second man-up goal of the year.
• York captured the ensuing draw and ran out the clock as York earned the second round win.
Game Notes:
York is now 5-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … York is now 3-0 all-time against St. John Fisher with two of those wins coming in the NCAA Tournament … York defeated St. John Fisher May 10, 2014, 13-12 at Kinsley Field in a second round game … York is now 4-0 all-time at Kinsley Field in the NCAA Tournament … The four goals allowed to the Cardinals marked the lowest number of goals allowed by the Spartans in an NCAA Tournament game … the tournament appearance is the sixth straight times that York has earned a tournament berth … junior goalie Charlotte Wright set a career-high with her 14 saves in the win … She also picked up her 15th win of the season which ties her with Ashley Smith (2014) for the single season record … the 15th win of the season ties the school record set previously in 2014 and 2015 … head coach Jen Muston now has 126 career victories … the game-winning goal for Meghan Fox was her team-leading fifth game-winning goal of the year … those five game winners ties Fox with Alison Napolitano (2008) for the school single season record in the category … CAC Player of the Year Nicole Clauter picked up four more draw controls as she now has 62 for the season which ties her for fifth on the single-season list ... sophomore Alyssa Rankin drew the tough defensive assignment of guarding the Cardinals' senior standout Jordan Johnson and Rankin was up to the task ... Johnson took just two shots in the game after coming into the game averaging 5.7 points per game (110 in 19 games) ... Johnson entered the game with 110 points on 56 goals and 54 assists ... Johnson had scored her 56 goals on a mere 88 shots .. Johnson had been held below three points just three times during the year and the one goal was her lowest offensive output of the year.
Up Next:
The Spartans will square off against #4 Messiah in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, May 20 at a site to be determined. The Falcons advanced to the third round courtesy of a 14-13 win over SUNY Cortland on Sunday. On the other side of the Spartans' pod, Trinity (CT) will face off against F&M. The site for the third round and quarter finals will be announced on Monday. Please check back at www.ycpspartans.com for full tournament information.
Charlotte Wright photo courtesy of David Sinclair Photography
