YORK, PA – The York College women's soccer squad closed out their 2023 regular season with a 3-0 loss at the hands of #5 Messiah in a battle for the regular season MAC Commonwealth championship. The win earns the Falcons the number one seed in the upcoming Commonwealth tournament while the Spartans will be the two seed for the second straight season. Messiah scored all three goals in the second half.
The Falcons improve to 15-2 overall and 7-0 in the league while the Green and White falls to 12-6 overall and 6-1 in the conference.
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons had a little better of the play in the first half but the Spartans held their own against #5 Messiah. The guest had a 10-3 edge in total shots and a 5-2 margin in shots on goal. Spartan keeper Madison O'Brien recorded five first half saves as the game went to the break scoreless.
• The Falcons turned up the pressure to start the second half as they fired off two shots in the first five minutes of the half. That pressure paid off in the 57^th minute as Kristina Akselsen collected a loose ball, drove across the top of the box and unleashed a top shelf shot to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. The goal was Akselsen's sixth of the year.
• Messiah wasted little time in adding to the lead as Hannah Adair fed Brittany Laird for a goal in the 59^th minute to put the Falcons up 2-0.
• The Spartans had a great look in the 63^rd minute as Alyssa Russell hit a header that Falcon goalie Ava Wert tipped wide. The resulting corner saw the Spartans get a header from Sara Frensley just go wide.
• The Falcons got an insurance goal in the 74^th minute as Kaitlyn Laird scored off a pass from Lydia Ring to give the guests a 3-0 bulge. The Falcons finished the game out-shooting the Spartans 23-6 including 10-4 in shots on goal. Messiah also held a 7-3 margin in corner kicks.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans fall to 1-13 all-time in the series against the Falcons as Messiah has won the last two meetings … York falls to 0-3 this year against teams ranked in the top 25 national poll … the loss snaps York's four-game win streak … York was blanked for the fourth time this year with three of those coming against nationally ranked squads … sophomore keeper Madison O'Brien made six saves in the game … the loss is just O'Brien's second this year as she falls to 9-2 … the Falcons have won 11 in a row
 
Up Next
The Spartans will host either Widener or Eastern on Tuesday night in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals. The game will be played at 7:00 pm at Graham Field. The winner of that semifinal will advance to the tournament championship game on November 4 at the site of the highest remaining seed.