LANCASTER, PA – The tenth ranked York College men's lacrosse team went on the road for the first time this year and picked up a 15-6 non-conference win at Franklin & Marshall College on a brisk Saturday in Lancaster.
The Spartans turned a close game at the half into a comfortable win as they dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Diplomats 6-1. The Green and White also held a 3-1 scoring advantage in the fourth.
The Spartans improve to 2-1 while the Diplomats fall to 2-1.
 
How It Happened
• The scoring pace was slow in the first quarter as neither team found the back of the cage until Franklin & Marshall's Jack Luviano scored with 7:25 left in the first quarter. The Spartans tied the game less than a minute later as Davis Fisher scored off a Will Harnick assist. Freshman Jackson Hines gave York a short-lived 2-1 lead with his fifth goal of the year. The Diplomats knotted the score for a second time as Liam Timmins scored with 4:25 left in the first.
• The second quarter scoring didn't take long to get started as Vinny Facciponti won the face off to start the quarter and then fed Hines who finished the chance and put York up 3-2 a mere 26 seconds into the period. Timmins struck again at the 10:08 mark, tying the game at three but York answered with back-to-back goals from Harnick and Jack Grayson as York led 5-3 with 4:19 left in the first half. The Diplomats got a Mason Montrella goal with 2:26 remaining but Facciponti won the ensuing face off and found Jackson Shields for the goal as York took a 6-4 lead to the break.
• The Spartans pushed the lead to 7-4 just 1:07 into the third quarter as Zach Mentzer netted a transition goal for his first tally of the year. The Diplomats answered with a Montrella goal a mere 11 seconds later to put to within two. The frenetic scoring pace of the third quarter continued as York took an 8-5 lead as Hines scored off a pass from Grayson for his third tally of the game. The Spartans made it 9-5 when they forced a turnover on the clear and Shields notched another transition goal with 5:24 left in the third.
• York continued its late third quarter run as the Green and White ripped off three goals over the final 4:40 of the third. It was a run started with a Nick Biava pole goal and was finished off with goals from Michael Russo and third goal from Shields as the Spartans took a 12-5 lead to the fourth quarter.
• The Spartan offensive onslaught continued in the early stages of the fourth quarter as Shields struck again off a pass from Zach Rutledge with 10:29 left in the game. Just under a minute later, JD Townsend found the back of the cage off a pass from Mentzer to put York up 14-5. The Diplomats finally snapped the Spartan run at seven goals with a Kai Kelly goal with 8:04 remaining in the game. Freshman Jake Jackson capped the scoring with his first collegiate goal with 1:59 left on the clock.
 
By The Numbers
The Spartans held a 47-34 advantage in shots including a 32-20 margin in shots on goal … York had a 38-27 edge in ground balls … York dominated the X, 17-8 … both teams were a little loose with the ball as they each had 19 turnovers … York had a 10-6 advantage in caused turnovers … York was tight on the clears, converting 21-of-22 chances while F&M was 25-for-29 … the teams combined for just 1:30 of penalty time as York was 0-for-1 on the man-up while F&M was 0-for-2.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are 6-1 against the Diplomats as they have won six straight in the series … York is now 10-3 in road openers under the direction of head coach Brandon Childs … the average margin of victory for the Spartans during their six-game win streak against the Diplomats is 6.7 goals per win … the Spartans had a season high in shots (47), shots on goal (32), and ground balls (38) … Jackson Shields led the way for the Green and White has he notched four goals and had five ground balls … he scored his four goals on just six shots … Jack Grayson and Jackson Hines each had three points as Grayson had a goal and two assists while Hines had three goals … Will Harnick, Davis Fisher, and Zach Mentzer each had a goal and an assist … Vinny Facciponti again dominated at the X as he was 17-for-24 in the game while he also had nine ground balls and two assists … Mentzer, Nick Biava, Brent Blackmon, and Colin Kane each had a pair of caused turnovers … Jack Keller improves to 2-1 in goal for the Spartans as he made 12 saves in his 54:45 of work … Nash Womack played the final 5:15 of the game and made two saves in net.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, March 2 when they welcome the #2 ranked RIT Tigers to Kinsley Field in York. First face off is set for 1:00 pm.