GRANTHAM, PA – The Messiah University men's soccer team got three first half goals to knock the Spartan men from the ranks of the unbeaten, 4-0, in a MAC Commonwealth contest on Saturday in Grantham.
The Falcons scored their first two goals just under three minutes apart and then tacked on a third with just over ten minutes left in the opening half.
The Falcons won their fourth straight as they are now 8-5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Commonwealth. The Spartans suffer their first blemish as they fall to 10-1-4 overall and 2-1 in the league. The loss snaps the Spartans six-match win streak.
 
How it Happened
• The two teams played back and forth over the opening 10 minutes of the game. Messiah slowly wrestled control of play from the Spartans over the next five minutes. They opened the scoring when Kyle Spodnik drove a ball towards the end line. He hit a pass across the mouth of the goal that eluded Spartan keeper Jake Bono. Patrick Lee captured the pass inside the far left post and put it home for his team-leading 10^th goal of the year.
• Messiah wasted little time in adding on in the 21^st game of the minute. Dylan Englehart carried the ball to end line, this time on the left side of the goal. He chipped a pass into the center of the box where Davis Pagett headed the ball home for the 2-0 lead. The Falcons tacked on a third first half goal as Isaac Schmitke hit a pass across the box and Sam Phillips finished off the chance. The three goals were scored by different Falcons while they also had three different players record assists.
• The Falcons out shot York 9-3 in the first half including 8-1 in shots on goal. The hosts had a pair of corner kicks to none for York.
• Pagett scored the Falcons' fourth goal of the evening in the 57^th minute. The Spartans were never able to get on track offensively. Messiah out shot
York 19-8 overall and 13-4 in shots on goal. The Falcons had a 7-1 bulge in corner kicks for the match.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have now lost 11 straight to the Falcons as they are 5-22-3 all-time … York last win against the Falcons came on September 24, 2013 as York earned a 1-0 win in a battle of #1 (Messiah) and #12 (York) … the Spartans were shut out for the first time this year … the four goals allowed was a season high against the Green and White … the Spartans were held to eight shots, their second lowest total of the year (7 vs. Neumann) … York had given up just eight goals in their previous 14 games … the 19 Falcon shots tied the season high against the Spartans (also 19 vs Alvernia) … the 13 shots on goal were the most conceded this year by York … coming into the game, the Spartans were one of ten teams in Division III without a loss … sophomore keeper Jake Bono made a season-high eight saves as he falls to 9-1-3 overall.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday night as they host Widener in a MAC Commonwealth contest. The match will kick off at 7:00 on at Graham Field.