ABINGTON, PA – The York College men's soccer team picked up their fifth win of the season as they downed Penn State Abington 2-1 in a physical non-conference contest in Abington, PA.
The Spartans got a pair of first half goals to seize control of the contest before the Lions made things interesting in the final ten minutes of play.
York remains unbeaten at 5-0-4 while the Lions fall to 0-7-2.
 
How It Happened
• The Lions had the early momentum as they fired the game's first three shots within the opening three minutes of the contest. Arsene Bado forced Spartan goalie Jake Bono to make a stop that resulted in a corner. Bado fired a shot off the corner that Matt Zeiders had to clear off the line to keep Abington off the scoreboard.
• The Spartans broke through in the game's 15^th minute as Owen Henderlite had a great individual effort to net a goal. Henderlite took possession of the ball just inside the midfield stripe. He dribbled through a number of Lion defenders before unleashing a wicked shot inside the 18 that found the back of the cage for the 1-0 lead. The goal was his first of the year.
• Bono was forced to make a save in the 29^th minute but the Spartans countered and took the lead when Jack Mitzelfelt drove the ball down the far sideline before serving the ball into the box. Noah Roche ran onto the ball and headed it inside the right post for the 2-0 Spartan lead in the 31^st minute.
• The Spartans had a number of second half chances but Lion goalie Brendan Werner was strong between the pipes for the hosts. The goalie registered four second half saves including a masterful diving save on a Mitzelfelt header that looked like it was heading inside the right post in the game's 80^th minute.
• Abington got on the board in the 84^th minute as the Spartans were called for a foul inside the box. Eljo Agolli slotted a shot into the right side of the net for the goal, slicing the Spartan lead in half with just over six minutes left in the game. The Lions carried the momentum of their goal as they got a Frankie Rafferty shot in the 86^th minute followed by an Agolli shot that was saved by Bono in the 87^th minute. The Lions drew a corner kick with 19 seconds left in the game but the shot off the corner was high and wide as York escaped with the one goal win.
• The Spartans finished the game with a 13-12 advantage in total shots while they also had a 9-5 margin in shots on goal. The Spartans had a 7-4 edge in corner kicks. The combined fouls were only 15 despite the physical nature of the contest.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 2-0-1 all-time against the Lions … York improves to 2-0-2 on the road … the Spartans have scored multiple goals in each of their last three matches and in six of their nine matches overall … York received a season-high three yellow cards … York surrendered their second penalty kick of the year but it was just the first conversion by an opponent … York out shot their opponent for the seventh time this season … York held the edge in corners for the fifth time this season … the goal for junior defender Owen Henderlite was his first collegiate tally and first game-winning goal … senior Noah Roche recorded his team-leading fifth goal of the year on the header … Roche is now fourth in the MAC Commonwealth in goal scored for the year … with Henderlite's goal, the Spartans have now had 10 players score at least one goal for the year … Abington's record is highly deceiving as six of their seven losses have all come by one goal while their seventh setback was a two goal decision.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return home on Saturday to face Neumann as York kicks off a three-game home stand. Kick off against the Knights is scheduled for 3:00 pm as a back end of a Spartan Saturday doubleheader.