OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The No. 6 Spartans captured the MAC Commonwealth title following an 11-0 victory over previously unbeaten No. 7 Stevenson Saturday night at Mustang Stadium.

Spartan senior defenseman Ryan Kenney was named the MAC Commonwealth Men's Lacrosse Championship Most Valuable Player after leading York with six caused turnovers in the shutout performance over Stevenson. York captured its second conference title in program history and the first MAC Commonwealth title in their first season in the conference.

Team records

#6/4 York 14-1

#7/8 Stevenson 8-1

How it happened

The Spartans took the lead on their second possession of the game as Chandler Schmidt scored an unassisted goal. The Spartans then forced back-to-back turnovers by the Mustangs on their first two possessions of the night. Following a save, Stevenson goalie Marc Poust gave away possession on the clear attempt, which then led directly to an Eric Ranck goal as York took a 2-0 lead. With 5:11 remaining in the opening quarter, Brendan O'Sullivan fired a quick shot in front after a feed from Dylan Wolf to give York a 3-0 lead. The Mustangs ended the first quarter with six turnovers on 10 possessions.

Turnovers plagued Stevenson again in the second quarter, committing one on each of their first two possessions of the quarter. The Spartans once again capitalized on the Stevenson miscues, as Jacob Wilhelm and Schmidt extended the lead to 5-0 less than four minutes into the second stanza. York opened a 6-0 lead 46 seconds after Schmidt's tally as Gunnar Reynolds found the back of the net following a Dylan Wolf assist. Wolf then delivered a gut punch with a goal less than two minutes to go in the half following yet another Stevenson turnover as York took a commanding 7-0 into halftime.

The Spartans found themselves in hot water to start the second half as Stevenson went on a two-player man-up advantage after they were called for a pair of penalties at the end of the first half. York weathered the storm as Jack Michael came through with a pair of saves early and the offense rewarded his efforts with a goal on their second possession of the quarter to take an 8-0 lead. O'Sullivan netted his second goal of the quarter and third of the game midway through the third to extend the York lead to nine. 

Will Harnick got on the score sheet with a tally five minutes into the fourth quarter to lift the Spartans to a double-digit advantage. O'Sullivan delivered the final blow with his fourth goal of the game with 6:59 left to play. Michael made two more saves in the closing minutes to preserve the historic shutout and punctuate the Spartan victory.

He said it

"This was a result of months of focus and sacrifice. I felt that our team did a great job in practice this week simulating Stevenson and so many guys that do not get a ton of playing time in games won us this game tonight! I am excited for our guys and admire their togetherness." - head coach Brandon Childs

Up next

The Spartans earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. York will find out who and when they play next following the NCAA Division III Selection Show on Sunday at 9 p.m.

Notes

York is now 5-15 against Stevenson all-time, snapping a two-game skid against the Mustangs … York handed the Mustangs their first loss to a MAC Commonwealth opponent since the Mustangs joined the conference in 2013, snapping a 76-game win streak (regular season and postseason combined) … the Spartans also ended Stevensnon's run of seven-straight MAC Commonwealth titles … York recorded the first-ever shutout in a MAC men's lacrosse championship game since the conference started having a championship game in 1980 … York handed the Mustangs their first-ever shutout in program history … the last time Stevenson was shutout in the opening half was on May 20, 2012 versus Salisbury while the Mustangs were shutout in the second half in 2018 at Lynchburg ... the Spartans now have three shutouts in program history, the first came in a 9-0 victory over susquehanna on April 7, 2009 and the most recent shutout came against Wesley in a 21-0 victory on April 4, 2017… York also ended Mustang attacker Jacob Tatum's 42-game point streak which began on April 6, 2018 … York's 11 goals is the most Stevenson has allowed in a game this season … Ryan Kennedy tied the program's single-game for the second time this season with six caused turnovers on the night … Kennedy moved into third place in program history with 74 career caused turnovers … Ethan Greene caused four more turnovers on the night as his team-leading total improved to 33.