YORK, PA – The York College men's soccer team saw their 2023 season come to a close as they fell to #1 Messiah 3-0 in MAC Commonwealth play on Saturday in York. The loss eliminated the Spartans from the four-team Commonwealth tournament.
The Falcons clinch the regular season championship as Messiah went undefeated in the Commonwealth regular season.
The Spartans finish with a record of 6-7-3 overall and 3-4 in the league. The Falcons improve to 17-0-1 and 7-0 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons pressured the Spartans early in the match as they recorded a corner kick just 1:43 into the game. Messiah squeezed off six shots, five on goal, in the first 26 minutes of the game. That pressure paid dividends in the 29^th minute as Sam Phillips drove the end line and flicked a pass into the box. All-American forward Matt McDonald finished the chance for the 1-0 Messiah lead.
• Messiah would threaten a few more times in the first half before settling for the 1-0 halftime lead. The Falcons outshot the Spartans 9-1 in the opening 45 minutes including a 7-0 margin in shots on goal. Freshman goalie Jake Bono kept the Spartans in the game with six first half saves.
• The Spartans came out of the locker room an inspired group as they managed four shots in the opening six minutes of the half. Unfortunately for York, none of those shots found their mark as York continued to trail. The Falcons answered York's salvo with their second goal as Cole Cristian played a beautiful long pass to Jarec Moriote who collected the ball in the box and finished the chance in the 56^th minute for the 2-0 lead.
• The Falcons tacked on a third goal as Isaac Schmitke turned the corner at the top of the box and slipped a nifty pass to Stefan Leitzel who finished off the chance inside the left post for his first goal of the year. The Spartans had a chance to break up the shut out in the 86^th minute as Jack Mitzelfelt fired a solid shot on goal but back up keeper Drew Stief made a sprawling stop to keep the clean sheet intact.
• Messiah ended the game with a 18-8 margin in total shots including an 11-2 margin in shots on goal. The Falcons also held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans fall to 5-21-3 against Messiah as the Falcons have won ten straight in the series … Messiah has now won 12 straight heading into the Commonwealth playoffs … York finished the year with a mark of 3-2-3 at Graham Field … freshman keeper Jake Bono finished the campaign with eight saves, two off his career high, as he started the final eight games of the year … Matt Martin and Brayden Safley finished for the team lead in scoring as they both had 11 points … Safley led the team in goals with five while Martin and Jack Mitzelfelt each scored four … the Spartans scored 27 goals this year while they conceded 27 for the campaign.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will return to the pitch next September when they open the 2024 campaign. Head coach Evan Scheffey is slated to return his entire squad for next year.