GRANTHAM, PA – The York College Spartan field hockey team dropped a 2-0 decision in a MAC Commonwealth showdown with #5 Messiah University Saturday afternoon in Grantham, PA.
The win gives the regular season crown to the Falcons as they will be the top seed in next week's MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The Spartans will be the two seed and host the third seed in next Wednesday's semifinal game in York.
The Spartans fall to 14-3 overall and 6-1 in the league. The Falcons improve to 15-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• The game was evenly played in the opening ten minutes of the game. The Falcons were able to fire off three shots in the final five minutes of the half while they also had three corners during that spurt.
• The Falcons broke the scoreless tie in the 20^th minute of the contest as the Spartans committed a turnover deep in their own defensive zone. Messiah's Carrie Bair scooped up the loose ball, took a pair of dribbles and slipped a pass past a hard charging Belle Fields for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Bair's eighth of the year.
• Messiah made it 2-0 with 31 seconds left in the first half as Mallory Kline hit a shot towards the cage. Fields made a sprawling save but the ball kicked right to Aubrey Clark who batted the rebound in for her ninth goal of the year. The Falcons out-shot the Spartans 5-0 while they held 1-0 edge in penalty corners in the second quarter.
• The Spartans were never able to create any kind of offense as they were held without a shot for the first time this year. The Falcons finished the game with 16 total shot but just five of those attempts were on goal. Fields made three saves in the loss for the Spartans.  
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have lost ten straight in the series to Messiah as the Falcons lead the all-time series 16-4-3 … York has been shut out in all three of their losses … the loss was the first road loss of the year for the Spartans as they are now 6-1 away from Kinsley Field … Messiah has won 16 straight at Anderson Field in Grantham … the Spartans entered the game with the sixth hardest schedule in Division III while the Falcons have the 37^th toughest slate in the country … the Spartans entered the game ranked fifth in the country in goals against average while the Falcons were 19^th … the Spartans will be the second seed in the MAC Commonwealth tournament for the third straight season.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will host the third seed in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals on Wednesday, November 1 at a time to be determined. The final tournament bracket will be announced on Saturday evening.