SALISBURY, MD – The defending national champion Salisbury University Sea Gulls outlasted a great effort from #12 York College, 15-14, on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference contest in Salisbury. The game was as even as it possibly could have been as the overall statistics were almost identical.
The loss snaps York's season-high five game win streak. The loss is also the fifth of the year to a top-five team in the IWLCA Rankings.
 
Records: #12 York 9-5; #3 Salisbury 11-2
Score: #12 York 14; #3 Salisbury 15
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a fantastic start as they scored five of the first six goals of the game. Teresa Matthias opened the scoring a mere 51 seconds into the game. The Gulls tied it up just over a minute later but York responded by ripping off four straight tallies. Kiersten Blanchard, Chloe MacDonald twice, and Jenna Cholowinski found the back of the net for York. The Gulls got two goals in the final 3:05 of the quarter, cutting York's lead to 5-3.
• The Sea Gulls tied the game with a pair of goals to open the second quarter as Erin Scannell and Emma Skoglund scored for the hosts. Logan Ward halted the Sea Gulls 4-0 run with her first goal of the game at the 11:20 mark. After a Salisbury goal at the 10:04 mark, Ward notched a free position goal and Matthias struck again to put York up 8-6. Salisbury recorded two goals just 40 seconds apart, tying the game at eight. Blanchard tallied an unassisted goal with 1:26 left in the half to give York a 9-8 lead at the break.
• Salisbury out shot York 19-15 in the first half while York held a 10-9 edge in draw controls. Spartan goalie Bella Garabo made nine first half saves for the Green and White.
• Blanchard opened the second half scoring 1:10 into the stanza. The Gulls got an own goal but Ward answered with a second free position goal with 10:50 left in the third to put York up 11-9. The Gulls closed out the quarter with a three-goal flurry to take a 12-11 lead heading to the fourth. Skoglund netted the final goal of the run with just 39 seconds left in the period.
• Matthias drew York even to open the fourth with her third goal of the game. Salisbury ripped off three straight goals to forge at 15-12 lead with 3:14 left in regulation. Matthias scored with 1:51 left and Madison Kurland cut the lead to one with 1:06 left in regulation. The Spartans got a turnover with ten seconds left and got a shot off but MacDonald's attempt at the horn went wide as the Spartans dropped a heartbreaker.
 
Spartan Offensive Leaders
Teresa Matthias: 4 goals
Kiersten Blanchard: 3 goals, 1 assist, 10 draw controls
Logan Ward: 3 goals, 2 assists, 4 ground balls, 2-for-2 FPS
Chloe MacDonald: 2 goals, 4 draw controls
Jenna Cholowinski: 1 goal, 2 ground balls, 2 draw controls
 
Spartan Goaltending
Bella Garabo: 60:00 minutes played, 15 goals against, 16 saves (Loss, 5-3)
 
Spartan Notes
Today's game was the first meeting between the two teams since York captured the 2019 Capital Athletic Conference championship game 13-11 in Salisbury on May 4 … the Sea Gulls lead the all-time series 21-2 … this is the first game between the programs as non-conference opponents … the Spartans reached double figures in goals for the 12^th time this year … York went 3-for-8 on free position shots … the Spartans had two man-up goals … York had 12 turnovers while the Sea Gulls had just four turnovers in the game … all five of the Spartan losses in 2022 have come to top five teams in the country … those five teams have a combined record of 57-8 (Franklin & Marshall 12-1, Gettysburg 10-3, Middlebury 13-0, Washington & Lee 11-2, Salisbury 11-2) … York had a season-low one caused turnover … junior goalie Bella Garabo set a new career high as she made 16 saves in the game … her 16 saves are tied for fourth on the single-game list … Logan Ward tied her career-high with five points on her three goals and two assists … it's the third time she had reached five points this year …  Kiersten Blanchard's 10 draw controls set a new career high … Blanchard now has a career-high 40 points for the year on 31 goals and nine assists … Blanchard is 14-for-21 in free position shots for the year … Chloe MacDonald is tied with Blanchard for the team lead in points (40) and goals (31) … MacDonald leads the squad in draw controls with 69 while Blanchard is second with 48.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will face their seventh nationally ranked team of the year as they travel to #14 Messiah in a battle of the last two MAC Commonwealth unbeatens. The Spartans enter the contest 5-0 in the league while the Falcons are 4-0. Game time in Grantham is set for 4:00 pm.