SALISBURY, MD – For the second time this year, the York College field hockey squad went on the road to face a top five opponent. For the second time this year, the Spartans suffered a 1-0 loss to a top five team on the road as #3 Salisbury edged the Spartans by a goal on Wednesday.
The Sea Gulls remain perfect at 11-0 as they are one of four undefeated teams in the country. The Spartans, ranked 15^th in the most recent NFHCA Poll, fall to 8-3. All three Spartan losses have come by one goal.
 
How It Happened
• The first quarter play was back and forth early as the two teams took turns dancing with momentum. The Spartans got the game's first shot on goal as Hannah Huffman forced Salisbury goalie Mackenzie Peacock to make a save just 2:08 into the game. That would be York's lone shot on goal for the game.
• The Spartans had back-to-back corners in the tenth minute of the game but only got one shot, that was blocked, from the pair of corners. Salisbury got two straight corners of their own late in the quarter. They got a pair of shots but neither could find the mark. The Gulls found pay dirt in the 13^th minute as Julia Frankie played the ball into the circle where Kaitlyn DeMonda finished the chance for the 1-0 Salisbury lead. The goal was DeMonda's fifth goal of the year.
• The Green and White had the better of the second quarter stats as they out shot the Gulls 3-1 while both teams had a pair of corners.
• Salisbury asserted themselves in the third quarter as they spent a majority of the period parked in the Spartan defensive third. Salisbury held a commanding 6-0 margin in shots while they also had a 7-0 bulge in penalty corners. Spartan goalie Belle Fields was forced to make just one save in the period as the hosts maintained the one goal lead.
• Fields was forced to work hard in the fourth quarter as the Spartan goalie made three saves in the first 11 minutes of the final quarter. The Gulls kept high pressure on the Spartan defense as they had seven corners and six shots. Three of those shots came on target and Fields came up with the stops to give York a chance late.
• The Spartans got a pair of corners in the final minute of the game but only got one shot off as they could not notch the equalizer. Salisbury out shot York 17-7 overall but just 5-1 in shots on goal.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans' #15 ranking matches the highest ranking in school history, tying the mark reached in September of 1998 … the loss snaps York's three-game win streak … the Spartans failed to find the back of the cage for just the second time in 11 games this year … the Salisbury goal was just the fifth surrendered by the Spartan defense … York recorded a season-low one shot on goal in the game … York falls to 5-2 on the road … Four of York's five goals allowed have come in their three losses … York's other top five loss came to #2 Johns Hopkins, 1-0, in Baltimore on September 7.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head to Dallas, PA on Saturday afternoon to face off against the Cougars from Misericordia. The match is slated for a 5:00 pm start.