YORK, PA – The eighth-ranked York College field hockey squad dropped their MAC Commonwealth opener on Saturday, falling to Stevenson University in a shootout. The Mustangs won the shootout 2-0 as the final score was 1-0.
The teams played 80 minutes of scoreless field hockey before heading to the shoot out. York had not played in a shootout since October 5, 2019 when Montclair State beat the Spartans 1-0 in Monclair, New Jersey.
The Mustangs snapped their two-game losing streak as they improve to 10-2-1 and 1-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Spartans fall to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in the league.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans had a slight edge in the first 15 minutes of play as they outshot the Mustangs 4-1 but only put on of those shots on target. York did have a 4-2 margin in penalty corners. The second quarter was extremely balanced as both teams put two shots on goal while both squads also had three corners as the game headed to the half scoreless.
• Stevenson had the best chance in the third quarter as the MAC Commonwealth's leading scorer, Emma Glandstein, put a shot on goal that Spartan keeper Belle Fields had to save. The Mustangs got a pair of penalty corners in the final two minutes of the quarter but the Spartan defense was able to kill off the chances.
• The Mustangs came out rolling to start the fourth quarter as they had the early momentum. Fields was forced to make a pair of saves to keep the game scoreless. The Spartans wrestled back the momentum in the final five minutes of regulation. York had three shots but all three were defended well by the Mustangs, forcing extra time.
• York got a good chance just 1:24 into the first overtime as Maggie Spadafora fired off a shot that was saved by Jordan Vradenburg. Gladstein had a pair of shots in the period but the first one was blocked and the second one, with the Spartans a player down, was saved by Fields. York got a corner with 1:33 left in the OT period but Olivia Miller's shot was high as the teams headed to a second extra session.
• Stevenson had a flurry midway through the period as Fields made two saves while Libby Wild had a defensive save for York. Wild made Vradenburg make back-to-back saves as the teams headed to the shootout.
• Gladstein made the first shootout attempt to put the Mustangs up 1-0. The teams combined to miss their next five attempts before Coco Wallace made Stevenson's fourth attempt. The Spartans missed their fourth, and what would be their final, attempt as the Mustangs earned the signature win.
• York outshot the Mustangs 16-11 but Stevenson held the all-important 10-6 margin in shots on goal. York had a slim 13-12 edge in penalty corners. Vradenburg made six saves for the Mustangs while Fields made eight saves. Both goalies get credited with a shutout in the game.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have their five match win streak against Stevenson snapped but York still leads the all-time series 26-5 … the loss snaps a five match home win streak for the Green and White … the Spartans have still allowed just one goal at home and that game in the season opener against Scranton … the loss to the unranked Mustangs marked the first Spartan loss to a non-nationally ranked team this year as their previous losses came to #17 Ithaca, #6 Christopher Newport and #2 Salisbury … the Spartans were shutout for the third time this year and the first time at home … York is averaging just under three shots on goal per game in their three shutout losses … senior goalie Belle Fields recorded her school record 24^th shutout but was denied her 41^st career win as she still trails Meg Eckenrode by one for the school record … senior defender Libby Wild recorded her league leading ninth defensive save of the year … Wild now has 16 career defensive saves as she ranks is fourth on the career list … Wild's nine defensive saves ties her with Katie Petrillo for second on the single season list, one behind Shea Reed (2004) and Jennifer Morrissette (2015) … York falls to 20-4 all-time in the MAC Commonwealth regular season … it's the first conference regular season loss to a team other than Messiah since the Spartans became a member of the league in 2021.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head out on the road on Wednesday night as they head to Chester, PA to face the Widener University Pride in a MAC Commonwealth contest. The match is slated for a 7:00 pm start.