LYNCHBURG, VA – The 16^th ranked York College women's lacrosse squad posted their most complete performance of the year as the Spartans rolled past Lynchburg 17-6 in a non-conference contest at Shellenberger Field in Lynchburg, VA on Friday afternoon.
The Spartans bounced back from their disappointing 15-9 loss to #5 Franklin & Marshall on Tuesday. The loss is the first for Lynchburg as they had outscored their first two opponents by a combined 30-12 score.
 
Score: #16 York 17, Lynchburg 6
Records: #16 York 2-1, Lynchburg 2-1
 
How It Happened
• The Hornets wasted little time in getting on the board as Nicki Santora gave Lynchburg a 1-0 lead just 1:04 into the game. York responded with three straight goals over the next five minutes as Kiersten Blanchard, Madison Kurland and Chloe MacDonald each scored to put York up 3-1.
• Lynchburg's Payton Saville halted the Spartan run with a goal at the 8:26 mark of the first quarter. Blanchard answered with her second goal of the game to give York a 4-2 lead. The Hornets got back-to-back goals from Leah Dumas and Santora to tie the game at four with 1:21 left in the opening quarter. The Spartans got a third, first quarter goal from Blanchard with just 20 ticks left in the opening period as York led 5-4 after one.
• Blanchard got the Spartans off to a great start in the second quarter with her fourth goal of the game just 55 seconds into the second stanza. MacDonald made it 7-4 just under a minute and a half later with her second goal of the day as the Spartans slowly started to seize control of the match.
• Mia Sullivan stopped the bleeding for the Hornets as she buried a free position shot just over Riley DiFiore's shoulder to cut the Lynchburg deficit to 7-5. MacDonald scored a cutting goal off a nice pass from Celly Arthur midway through the quarter to give York the 8-5 lead. Logan Ward closed out the first half scoring with a goal at the 7:37 mark as she drove in from the right wing and flicked a shot across her body to finish off the chance.
• York had a pair of free position chances inside the final four minutes of the second quarter but Lynchburg goalie Patricia Rogers saved both chances to keep the Hornets in the game before halftime.
• The Spartans used great defense and timely offense to pull away in the third quarter. After holding Lynchburg to just one goal in the second quarter, the defense was even better in the third as they did not surrender a shot on goal during the third quarter. While the defense was clicking, the offense got rolling with a six-goal period. Ward, Jenna Cholowinski, MacDonald twice, Gianna Huet, and Riley Roeder scored in the quarter for York.
• The Spartans scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter before the Hornets halted a 10-goal Spartan run with a Santora free position goal at the 4:09 mark of the quarter. Lynchburg went 35:25 of game time without scoring.
 
Spartan Leaders
Chloe MacDonald: 5 goals, 2-for-2 FPG, 3 GB, 2 draws
Kiersten Blanchard: 4 goals, 1-for-1 FPG, 2 GB, 6 draws
Logan Ward: 2 goals, 1 GB
Celly Arthur: 3 assists, 2 GB
Emmy Bryden: 3 draws, 2 GB
 
Spartan Goalies
Riley DiFiore: 45:00 minutes, 5 goals against, 7 saves (Win, 2-1)
Bella Garabo: 15 minutes, 1 goal against, 5 saves
 
Game Notes
The meeting was the first between the two programs … York is now 2-0 on the road … the Spartans ended the game outshooting Lynchburg 48-25 overall and 35-18 in shots on goal … York won 15 of the 23 draw controls in the game … both teams committed 14 turnovers with Lynchburg having six caused turnovers and York recording four … York set a season high with 17 goals, 22 points, 48 shots, 35 shots on goal, and 24 ground balls … Chloe MacDonald tallied five goals in the win as she continues to lead the offense … MacDonald has 13 points on 12 goals and one assist while Kiersten Blanchard has 11 points on ten goals and two assists in her three games played … York is now 11-for-22 in free position attempts while opponents are 9-for-23 for the year … senior Riley DiFiore improves to 18-4 as the Spartans' starting goalie.
 
Up Next
The Spartans continue their two-game Virginia road trip with a game against unbeaten Roanoke on Sunday afternoon in Salem, Virginia. Game time from Roanoke is set for 12:00 pm.