GRANTHAM, PA – The eighth ranked York College field hockey squad allowed first quarter goal and that would be enough to lift #5 Messiah University to a 1-0 MAC Commonwealth championship game win on Saturday afternoon in Grantham, PA.
The Falcons won both matchups with the Spartans this year as York had to go on the road in both contests. Messiah held the Spartans to zero shots last Saturday but the Green and White gave a much better accounting of themselves in the title game.
The Spartans are now 15-4 overall while the Falcons improve to 17-1 as they earn the Commonwealth's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons got the first shot of the game six minutes into the contest but Spartan goalie Belle Fields recorded the save. Three minutes later, Messiah drew the first penalty corner of the game and they converted as Jenna Lutz inserted to Nicole Shank who finished off the chance for her sixth goal of the year at the 9:44 mark.
• The Spartans had the better of the play in the first ten minutes of the second quarter. York drew their first penalty corner in the 19^th minute of play. Hannah Huffman's shot was saved. York earned a second straight penalty corner but Katie Martino's shot was just wide of the mark. The Falcons had a pair of late shots in the quarter but Fields notched two saves to keep the Spartan deficit at one.
• The third quarter was back and forth with limited offensive chances for either team. The Falcons had a trio of shots in the quarter while York got an Olivia Miller attempt on goal with 1:10 left in the period.
• The Spartans started pressing more in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie the game with about two minutes left as Riley Buschert had a shot from inside the circle that was just wide of the left post. The Falcons were able to kill off the last minute and a half of the game as the Green and White couldn't notch the equalizer late in the match.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans dropped their fourth game of the year with two coming by one goal and two coming via a two goal deficit … York is now 4-17-3 against the Falcons as Messiah has beaten York in 11 straight matches … the Falcons out shot the Spartans 10-5 including 5-2 in shots on goal … Messiah held a 6-3 margin in penalty corners … York has been shutout in all four of their losses … York has played the fifth toughest schedule in the country entering today's game … York is now 6-2 on the road … goalie Belle Fields now owns a goals against average of 0.58 and a save percentage of .796 as she is 15-4 … her goals against average will be a school record, breaking her own mark from last year … York was out shot for just the fifth time this year while they lost the battle of penalty corners for just the fourth time this year.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will now wait to learn their NCAA Tournament fate as the NCAA Division III selection show will announce the tournament participants on Sunday night at 10:30 pm. The show will be available at www.ncaa.com. The Spartans are looking to earn their second straight at-large bid to the tournament.