YORK, PA – The York College women's soccer squad advanced to their fourth straight MAC Commonwealth championship match thanks to their 4-1 tournament semifinal win over Eastern University on Wednesday evening in York.
The Spartans scored all four of their goals in a stretch of 11:21 of game time early in the match to give themselves a great cushion for the remainder of the contest.
York improves to 12-3-5 while the Eagles end their strong campaign with a mark of 12-6-3. The win was the 50^th in the tenure of Spartan head coach Kelly Wakeman.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans fired off three of the first four shots of the game with two of those attempts coming on goal. The Green and White opened the scoring in the 11^th minute as Alyssa Russell carried the ball down the right sideline towards the box. She sent a pass back to Gabby Jennings near the top of the box. Jennings threw a pass towards the left post and Meg Kalthof came running on the ball and finished the chance for the 1-0 lead.
• York added a second goal a mere 1:50 later off a bizarre play. The Eagles cleared an initial Spartan foray into the box. The ball found the head of Russell who sent the ball back towards the goal. Jennings was running onto the ball but an Eagle defender alertly shielded her from getting to the ball. Fortunately for York, Eastern goalie Faith Leake was moving towards Jennings to prevent her from getting a clean look. However no one from Eastern touched the bouncing ball which tucked inside the right post for the goal.
• The offensive onslaught continued less than ten minutes later. The Eagles committed a foul about ten yards inside the midfield stripe. Sophomore Jaelynn Small put a fantastic kick into the box where Russell headed it towards Meg Bailey. The sophomore collected Russell's head ball, turned and fired for the goal as the lead grew to 3-0. York didn't have to wait long for goal number four as Kalthof scored one of the best goals of her career. She captured a loose ball and drove to the end line. She stopped on a dime, slid the ball to her left foot and unleashed a rocket past Leake just 36 seconds after Bailey's goal.
• York outshot the Eagles 15-1 in the first half including 10-1 in shots on goal. The Spartans had a 4-1 edge in corners in the opening 45 minutes of play.
• The Eagles cut into the lead in the 53^rd minute of the game as Morgan Crake poked a pass into the box. The Spartan defense was slow to react and Ella Marrollo made the Spartans pay with her sixth goal of the year. York had some chances in the second half but couldn't find the back of the net despite five shots on goal.
• York finished the match with a 23-4 edge in total shots, a 15-2 margin in shots on goal while they also had a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Spartan Notes
York improves to 12-3 all-time against Eastern as York has won five straight in the series including two this year … Spartan head coach Kelly Wakeman improves to 50-22-9 during her four years on the field as the Spartans have won at least 12 games in all four of her seasons … the Spartans are now making their fourth MAC Commonwealth championship match appearance and their 11th conference championship match appearance overall … York has three Capital Athletic Conference championships (2007, 2013, and 2015) while they are still in search of their first Commonwealth title … the Spartans are now 4-3 all-time in the Commonwealth tournament including 4-0 in the MAC Semifinals … York is now 3-0 all-time at Graham Field in the Commonwealth tournament with three semifinal wins … The Spartans have outscored their four Commonwealth semifinal opponents by a combined score of 13-2 … the tournament match against Eastern is the first time they have squared off in the tournament … the Spartans finished their home slate with a mark of 7-1-3 … York is 4-0-1 over their last five as they have outscored those opponents 17-2 … sophomore Meg Kalthof matched her offensive output from last year as she leads the Spartans with 27 points on ten goals and seven assists … Kalthof had 27 points on 11 goals and six assists last year … She how has 54 points on 21 goals and 12 assists in her 39 game Spartan career … senior Alyssa Russell was fantastic in the win as she notched a career-high four points on her goal and two assists … Russell now has 31 career points on her 11  goals and nine assists … the goal was her fourth career game-winner and second of this season … sophomore Meg Bailey continues her torrid late season run as she notched her fourth goal of the year … all 11 of Bailey's points this season have come in her last four goals as she had four points against Albright, five points against Stevenson and two points with her goal in the win tonight … the assist for sophomore defender Jaelynn Small was her first career point as a Spartan … first year goalie Joss Metz improves to 11-3-5 for the year as she made one save in the win … Wednesday's game was the final home contest in the stellar careers of Morgan Joyce, Russell, Brooke Flugman and Teresa Gonzalez … the foursome earned their 50^th career win as a group in the match.
 
Up Next
For the fourth straight year, the Spartans head up the road to Grantham, PA on Saturday to face the Messiah Falcons in the MAC title game. Kickoff is set for 12:00 pm.