GRANTHAM, PA – For the second straight year, the York College women's soccer team played for a MAC Commonwealth championship. For the second straight year, the Spartans dropped a decision to top ranked Messiah. This time, the Falcons secured a 2-0 win over the Green and White in the title tilt.
The Falcons earned their 19^th conference championship with the victory as they advance to next week's NCAA Division III Tournament. The Falcons, who avenged their lone 2022 loss with the win, improve to 17-1-2 overall. The Spartans end their stellar campaign with a mark of 12-4-4.
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons had the first great chance of the game as Julia Martin had a hard shot that was punched over the bar by Spartan goalie Jacqueline Keogh in spectacular fashion. The Falcons had another good chance after a Spartan foul just outside the box but Messiah couldn't produce a shot on the free kick.
• Messiah got on the board with a great effort from Hannah Adair. Adair tracked a long ball down just before it rolled over the end line. She settled the ball and fired a pass across the goalmouth. The Spartans couldn't clear the pass and Lydia Ring was sitting on the far post. Ring capitalized on the Spartan mistake and knocked the ball home in the 38^th minute for the 1-0 Falcon lead. Messiah out shot York 6-0 in the first half as Keogh was credited with two saves.
• The Falcons got a pair of shots in the opening six minutes of the half as Keogh saved both attempts. York finally put a shot on the board in the 51^st minute as Makayla Harper hit a shot that was saved by Falcon goalie Ava Wert.
• Messiah continued to pepper Keogh with shots and the Spartan senior continued to respond with four saves over the next 15 minutes of play. The Falcons finally capitalized on the pressure with an Adair goal off a pass from Rachael Tirjan in the 74^th minute of play. The Spartans continued to play hard the rest of the way but the two-goal deficit proved to be too challenging to overcome.
 
Spartan Notes
York is now 1-12 all-time against the Falcons … the Falcons avenged their 1-0 home loss to the Spartans which snapped a 150-game conference unbeaten streak for the Falcons … York is now 3-3-3 on the road in 2022 … the Spartans were making their second straight MAC Commonwealth championship game appearance in their second year in the league … York is now 25-10-4 under head coach Kelly Wakeman … the championship game appearance is York's ninth in program history … York is now 3-6 in conference championship games … the loss to the Falcons snaps a 10-game Spartan unbeaten streak and a four-game win streak … senior goalie Jacqueline Keogh capped a memorable year as she posted a 0.76 goals against average and a .844 save percentage … Keogh also had eight shutouts in 20 games … Keogh capped her career with a career-high nine saves in the match.
 
Up Next
The loss concludes the season for the Spartans. The 12 wins for the Spartans marks the 14^th time in the 26 season of women's soccer at York has won double digits matches. The Spartans now must say goodbye to graduate student Moriah Morton, and seniors Jacqueline Keogh, Anna Morton, Erin Snyder, Joanna Gorrell, Sabrina McGuigan, Rori Englert, Ashley Hudak, and Makayla Harper. This group has spearheaded a pair of conference championship appearances for the Green and White.