HUNTINGDON, PA – The York College men's soccer team used a furious second half rally to remain unbeaten as they secured a 2-2 tie in a non-conference contest at Juniata on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans trailed 2-0 with less than 30 minutes in regulation but were able to net the equalizer with just over five minutes left in the game to record the tie.
The Spartans are now 4-0-4 overall while Juniata is 3-1-4.
 
How It Happened
• The Eagles wasted little time in getting on the board as they drew a corner off a Jake Bono save a mere 2:51 into the game. The Eagles converted the corner as Ty Mazzarella headed home the Brandon Marzula corner kick for the early 1-0 lead.
• The remainder of the first half was back and forth as the shots were even at six. Bono made four first-half saves while the Spartans had a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.
• The Eagles extended their lead in the 61^st minute as Jayden Gaynor and Jalen Holliday ran a nice give-and-go for a goal. Gaynor collected a loose ball just inside the midfield stripe. He sent a pass forward to Holliday who carried it into the left side of the box. He fired a pass back to Gaynor who took a few touches before unleashing a shot that found the back of the cage.
• The Eagles had a chance to extend the lead to three but Bono came up huge with a stop onf a Marzula penalty kick. Marzula hit the ball towards the left post but Bono made a sprawling stop which would prove to be huge in giving York the ability to salvage the tie.
• York finally broke through in the 70^th minute of play. The Spartans drew a foul just outside the box. The free kick went into the box and the deflection was played out to Matt Zeider. The senior hit a missile that was punched over the cross bar by Eagle goalie Maxwell Mattioni, creating a Spartan corner. Zeiders hit the corner kick which was eventually played out to Colin Findlay. The freshman blistered a shot that was turned away on a stellar save by Mattioni. However, the rebound when to Zeiders who struck a harsh angle shot to get York on board.
• York notched the equalizer 20 minutes later as senior Jack Mitzelfelt gave a great individual effort to net a goal. He collected a loose ball about 30 yards from the goal, drove across the field and unleashed a rocket inside the right post for the goal.
• Dermot Williamson nearly had the go-ahead goal off a corner in the final 1:30 of the game but his header was just wide for the Spartans.
• York ended the game with a 16-12 advantage in total shots while the Eagles had an 8-7 edge in shots on goal. Both teams had nine corner kicks while the Eagles were whistled for 13 fouls to six for York.
 
Spartan Notes
The tie snaps a ten game Spartan win streak against Juniata as York is now 24-3-1 all-time against the Eagles … the 4-0-4 start is their best undefeated start since the 2009 squad started 8-0-2 … the Spartans out shot their sixth opponent of the year … York's nine corner kicks tied a season high (at Susquehanna) … sophomore keeper Jake Bono tied a season-high with six saves as he improves to 4-0-3 … senior Matt Zeiders recorded his first goal of the season … the goal was Zeiders' fourth career tally … senior Jack Mitzelfelt scored his second goal of the season to tie the game … the goal was Mitzelfelt's 17^th career goal.
 
Up Next
The Spartans remain on the road on Wednesday afternoon as they head to Penn State Abington to face the Lions. Game time in Abington, PA is set for 3:30 pm.