YORK, PA – The York College men's soccer squad opened up the Nate Gibboney era with a 1-1 tie against Carnegie Mellon in a highly entertaining match at Graham Field on Friday evening. 
The Spartans scored early and the Tartans tied the game 21 minutes later. The remaining 68 minutes was a slug fest as both teams battled to get the go ahead goal. Both teams had chances but both defenses were stout as the game ended tied.
Both teams are now 0-0-1.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans wasted little time in getting on the board. The Green and White got a beautiful long pass down the near sideline from Dylan Marco as he found a streaking Jack Mitzelfelt. Mitzelfelt drove the ball towards the end line before unleashing a great centering pass. The ball found the head of a charging Noah Roche who deposited the ball into the net for the 1-0 Spartan lead. The goal came just 3:11 into the game.
• The Spartans had a chance to add to the lead in the 18^th minute of the game as there was a scrum in the box. Tartan goalie Mark Martinez was off his line but wasn't able to gather in the loose ball. Gavin Huey had the ball on his foot and fired a shot toward the goal. A CMU defender cleared the ball off the line, preventing a 2-0 Spartan lead.
• The Tartans had a goal kick by Drew McKim in the 25^th minute. His kick found the head of Eli Kampine who's shot was turned away by Spartan goalie Jake Bono. Unfortunately for York, the rebound came right back to Kampine who finished off the rebound, tying the game at one.
• York had back to back corner kicks which resulted in shots including the second one which ended with a Martinez save on a Luke Nall header. The Tartans had a flurry of chances with just over five minutes left in the half before the teams headed to the intermission tied at one.
• CMU held a 9-7 edge in total shots while both teams had three shots on goal. The Tartans held a 4-2 edge in corners for the opening 45 minutes of play.
• The Tartans came out of the gate in the second half and had a golden opportunity eight minutes into the second half as Jack Kavan hit a brilliant cross that was just a touch too far as an on-rushing Tartan couldn't connect as the ball bounced harmlessly over the end line.
• The two squads spent the second half going back and forth with the Spartans having a few more dangerous chances that just missed the target. The Tartans had a corner kick in the 87^th minute that almost went in off the corner but Bono make a great stop to keep the tie intact.
• Carnegie Mellon finished the game holding a 16-12 margin in total shots while they also had a 7-4 margin in shots on goal. CMU had six corners to three for the Green and White.
 
Notes
The Spartans are now 1-0-1 all-time against Carnegie Mellon … the last tie in a Spartan home opener came against current head coach Nate Gibboney when he was the bench boss at Lycoming in 2021 … the Spartans are now 11-2-5 in home openers at Graham Field … sophomore goalie Jake Bono made six saves in the tie … first year Spartans Colin Findlay, Aiden Hall, and Lucas Schissler all made their Spartan collegiate debuts in the match … Noah Roche recorded his eighth career goal in the match … the assist for Jack Mitzelfelt was his fifth career helper.
 
Up Next
The Spartans continue their holiday weekend with a match against Eastern Mennonite on Sunday afternoon at Graham Field. Kick off is set for 1:00 pm. The Royals opened their season today with a scoreless road tie against Maritime College.