YORK, PA – The eighth-ranked York College field hockey squad earned a return trip to the MAC Commonwealth championship game as they blanked third-seeded Widener 3-0 in Wednesday's Commonwealth semifinal match in York.
The Spartans got three goals from senior Katie Martino as the Green and White cruised to the semifinal win. York now heads to top seeded Messiah for the tournament title on Saturday.
The Spartans improve to 15-3 overall while Widener sees their campaign come to a close with a record of 8-10.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans jumped on the Pride early as they fired off three straight shots off a penalty corner a mere 1:18 into the game. The fourth shot finally found the mark as Katie Martino poked in a loose ball in front of the cage for the 1-0 lead. The Pride got their first penetration into York's defensive third four minutes into the game as they earned a penalty corner, their first foray into York territory in two games. Widener did not get inside the circle in their last contest in York on October 21. York ended the first quarter with a 6-0 bulge in shots while they had a slim 2-1 margin in corners.
• The second quarter was scoreless as the Spartans out shot Widener 3-0 as Pride goalie Abby Blake made three saves in the quarter, sending the game to halftime with York holding the 1-0 advantage.
• York opened the third quarter with three penalty corners in the first five minutes of the stanza. The third corner created a goal as Riley Buschert inserted to Hannah Huffman who ripped a ball at the right post. Martino redirected the ball into the goal for the 2-0 Spartan lead. The Spartans had four shots and five corners in the period as they extended their lead.
• The Green and White cashed in on another penalty corner in the 50^th minute of play as Buschert had the ball near the end line. She crossed it to the middle of the crease and Martino finished off the chance for her third goal of the night and 13^th of the year.
• York concluded the game holding a 14-0 bulge in shots, a 9-0 advantage in shots on goal and an 11-2 margin in penalty corners. Blake made six stops in goal for the Pride.
 
Spartan Notes
York is now 4-1 all-time against the Pride with a pair of wins this year … York has won three straight in the series … the last Widener win came in the 2021 MAC Commonwealth semifinals as the Pride beat York 1-0 in overtime on November 3 … the Spartans held Widener without a shot in the regular season meeting and out-shot the Pride 32-0 in their two matches in 2023 … the Spartans scored all three of their goals off penalty corners … the Spartans held their third opponent of the year to zero shots in a game … the shut out was the Spartans' tenth of the year … junior goalie Belle Fields continues to increase her single season school record for shut outs as she now has ten … the win on Wednesday pushes Fields' career record to 30-9 with 16 clean sheets … Fields is now tied for second in career shut outs, two back of Megan Eckenrode's school record of 18 while her 30 wins ranks her fifth on the all-time goalie wins list … Fields' 15 wins ties her own single season record, a mark she shares with Judy Frankel … senior Katie Martino tied her career high with her six points on three goals, a mark she first established on October 22, 2022 against Eastern.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will look to capture their first MAC Commonwealth Field Hockey title on Saturday as they head to Grantham, PA to face the top-seeded Messiah University Falcons in the league title tilt. The teams meet for the second straight year with the tournament title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. Game time at Anderson Field in Grantham is set for 1:00 pm.