GRANTHAM, PA – The York College Spartans fell to #11 Messiah University 3-0 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Grantham in the 2021 Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth.
The Spartans were making their first Commonwealth championship match appearance while the Falcons earned their 18^th MAC Championship.
 
2021 MAC Commonwealth Women's Championship Match
Score: York 0, Messiah 3
Records: York 13-7, Messiah 16-1-2
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons struck early in the contest as they got a goal on their second corner of the game in the sixth minute of the game. The Falcons played the corner kick short to the right wing. McKenzie Swartley swung a pass to the middle of the box where Ester Seeland headed the ball inside the near right post for the 1-0 Falcon lead.
• The Spartans had a pair of good chances in a one minute flurry as Alyssa Russell had a pair of shots that Messiah goalie Lydia Watkins was forced to make saves on. The first save was spectacular and kept the Spartans off the board.
• The Falcons made it 2-0 in the 26^th minute. Messiah had the ball in the box and put together a quick combination that led to a flicked shot by Rachael Tirjan for the goal. The well placed shot was assisted by Jenna Skurcenski and Jessie Fisher.
• Messiah closed out the scoring in the 36^th minute as there was a Spartan foul in the box and Tirjan converted the PK on the right side of the net for the 3-0 lead.
• Both teams had seven first half shots while the Falcons put five of those shots on target compared to four for York.
• The second half saw the Spartans push to try to score while the Falcons were content to play for possession. York was not credited with a second half shots while Messiah had eight shots. Spartan goalie Cat McCarty made three second half saves for the Spartans.
• Messiah outshot the Spartans 15-8 for the game including 8-4 in shots on goal. The Falcons won the battle of corner kicks 10-4 while York had five saves to four for the hosts.
 
Spartan Leaders
Alyssa Russell – 2 shots on goal
Erin Snyder – 1 shot on goal
Ashlynn Weger – 1 shot on goal, 2 shots total
Cat McCarty – 90:00 minutes played, 3 goals against, 5 saves
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans fall to 0-11 all-time against Messiah … this is just the second time these two programs have met in the post season as the Falcons beat York 3-0 in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 in 2007 in York … the conference championship match appearance was the first as members of the MAC Commonwealth and their eighth overall in program history … York is now 3-5 in conference championship contest … the Spartans suffered just their third road loss of the year as they ended the campaign 8-3 away from Graham Field … the loss ends the Spartans' season-high five match win streak … York was shutout for the fifth time this year while the Green and White posted 10 shutouts during 2021.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will now wait to see if they are able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament when the field is officially announced on Monday. York has been in the regional rankings throughout the year but may need some help from some favorites to capture conference crowns over the next 12 hours. If the Spartans do not earn an at-large berth, that will close out the careers of an exceptional group of seniors. Caitlyn Findlay, Jenna Cholowinski, Megan Stoltzfus, Cat McCarty, Moriah Morton, Rebecca Morgan, and Jenna Terenchin all played huge roles in the best Spartan season since 2013.