YORK, PA – The York College women's soccer team advanced to their third straight MAC Commonwealth championship game as they defeated Widener 2-0 in the tournament semifinals on a brisk Tuesday evening in York.
The Spartans advance to face top seeded Messiah University in the tournament championship game on Saturday in Grantham, PA. The Falcons blanked fourth seeded Eastern 3-0 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.
The Spartans improve to 13-6 overall while the Pride sees their season come to a close with a record of 5-7-6.
 
How It Happened
• The teams went back and forth early in the contest. The Pride had the first great chance of the game as Alyssa Carman captured a loose ball in the right side of the box. She unleashed a shot that just went wide of the left post as the Spartans averted falling behind in the opening 17 minutes of the game. The Spartans opened the scoring in the 21^st minute as Raven Davies struck a long forward pass that freshman Meg Kalthof collected just outside the box. Kalthof knew what to do with the ball as she finished the chance for her tenth goal of the year and the 1-0 Spartan lead.
• Kalthof looked like she was going to add to the lead in the 24^th minute as she made a great move in the box to free herself for a shot. Unfortunately, her shot was a little strong as it sailed over the cross bar for a Widener goal kick. York out shot Widener 5-2 in the first half including 2-0 in shots on goal. York had a slight 3-2 edge in first half corner kicks.
• The Pride came out of the intermission and carried the play as they fired off five shots in a seven-minute span ten minutes into the half. Madison O'Brien was forced to make three saves during that flurry to keep the Pride off the board. York added a huge insurance goal in the 74^th minute as Morgan Joyce played a ball from just inside midfield toward the box. Sophomore Julianna Schilling tracked down the ball and blasted the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the year. The assist was Joyce's first of the campaign.
• York killed off the remaining 16:39 of the game to advance to the title match. York finished the game out shooting their guests 14-11 while York held the 9-4 bulge in shots on goal. The Spartans out-cornered Widener 6-5. O'Brien made four saves for York while Samantha Coon registered seven saves for the Pride.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 8-0-1 all-time against the Pride as they won by match ups this season … York pitched their eighth shutout of the year in the win … York has defeated Lebanon Valley twice and Widener once on their way to the MAC Championship match … York has won five of their last six matches and are now 5-4 at home … the 13 wins matches the Spartans' highest total under the guidance of head coach Kelly Wakeman, a mark they reached in her first year in 2021 … the Spartans are now 38-18-4 during Wakeman's tenure … freshman Meg Kalthof reached double figures in goals with 10 as she now has a MAC Commonwealth-leading 25 points … Kalthof becomes the first Spartan since Jill Stanley to reach double figures in goals in a season as Stanley had 12 in 2008 … Kalthof is on quite the heater as she has scored eight of her ten goals in the Spartans' last six games … she has scored 18 of her 25 points in the last six contests … sophomore keeper Madison O'Brien improved to 10-2 with her win in net … the shutout was her fourth of the year … O'Brien is now tied for fourth on the single season wins list as she is tied with Caitlin McCracken … O'Brien is ranked second in the Commonwealth in goals against average while her .830 save percentage is fifth. 
 
Up Next
The Spartans head to Grantham to face the Messiah University Falcons in Saturday's MAC Commonwealth championship game. The game time is tentatively set for 12:00 pm. The Falcons knocked off the Spartans 3-0 last Saturday to earn the top seed and the MAC Commonwealth regular season title.