YORK, PA – The York College men's lacrosse team captured their fourth MAC Commonwealth tournament title in five years with a 16-10 win over Stevenson University on Saturday in York.
The Spartans improve to 4-0 in Commonwealth title games with all four wins coming over the Mustangs.
The Spartans, who are ranked tenth in the nation, head into the NCAA Tournament riding a ten-game win streak as they are now 16-3 overall. Stevenson, who are ranked 11^th in the country, fall to 14-5 overall.
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans came racing out of the locker room as they smacked the Mustangs with a haymaker, scoring the first six goals of the game before Stevenson was able to get their bearings. Gavin Gismondi made sure the Spartans were on secure footing by scoring three straight goals after Nate Schilling had opened the scoring 34 seconds into the game. Blake Morton and Colby Berard added goals as York led 6-0 with 5:13 left in the first.
• Stevenson got on the board with a Gavin Gossen goal but Cory Bergmann and Berard answered with tallies to put the Spartans up 8-1 after 15 minutes of play.
• Stevenson got a pair of goals to open the second quarter but York got those two tallies right back. Davis Fisher and Morton scored for York before the half as York took a 10-3 lead to the break.
• The third quarter proved to be an offensive bonanza as the teams combined for 11 goals. York scored four of the first five goals of the quarter as the Spartan lead grew to a game-high 10 at 14-4. Coleton Mahorney, Schilling twice, and Kyle Ettenhofer scored for York during the spurt. The Mustangs outscored York 4-2 in the final 6:05 of the quarter, trimming their deficit to 16-8 heading to the fourth.
• The Spartans turned their focus to longer possessions as they wanted to avoid the chaos of the third quarter. York failed to score in the fourth but goalie Nash Womack stood tall as he made five saves in the quarter while he allowed a goal with 11:01 left and a cosmetic goal with 20 seconds left in the game.
 
By the Numbers
The Spartans held a 46-33 edge in total shots and a 30-20 bulge in shots on goal … York dominated ground balls as they almost doubled up the Mustangs 40-21 … York was 19-for-29 at the X in the game … turnovers were almost even as York had 16 while Stevenson had 17 … the Mustangs had a 9-5 edge in caused turnovers … Stevenson goalies made 14 saves to ten for York … York was 17-for-19 in the clear while Stevenson was 12-for-18 … York was 2-for-4 on the extra man while Stevenson was 1-for-3 … Gavin Gossen and Max Racich each had four points for the Mustangs … Gossen had two goals and two assists while Racich found the back of the net four times … Connor Dunay was 10-for-27 at the X with four ground balls … Camden Miller added four ground balls and two caused turnovers … Tyler Merchant went the distance in goal as he made 14 saves while he allowed all 16 Spartan goals.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans have now won eight straight against Stevenson including four straight in MAC Commonwealth championship games … the Mustangs still lead the all-time series 15-12 … York has outscored Stevenson 56-32 in the four championship games … York is now 9-1 all-time in the MAC Commonwealth tournament … the conference tournament championship is now the fifth overall (2016 CAC, 2021-23, 2025 MAC Commonwealth) in the history of the Spartan program … York is now 5-3 all-time in conference championship games including 4-0 in the Commonwealth … York has outscored Stevenson 120-66 during York's current eight game win streak between the two teams … between the fourth quarter in the regular season match up and the first quarter of the championship game, the Spartans outscored Stevenson 17-4 in that 30 minutes of play … the Spartans improve to 10-1 at Kinsley Field this year … York's only home loss was a 12-11 setback against #19 Denison … York has 18 man-up goals in their last seven games … in the two wins over Stevenson this year, the Spartans had a 90-46 bulge in ground balls … York also had a 44-21 advantage at the X … grad attack Gavin Gismondi set a new Spartan career high with eight points on five goals and three assists … Gismondi also had four ground balls … Nate Schilling added three goals, an assist and three ground balls … Colby Berard and Blake Morton each added a pair of goals for York … Brady Watts continued to post wins at the X as he was 16-for-22 with six ground balls … tournament MVP Jeff Mueller paced the defense with three ground balls and a caused turnover in the win.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will make their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance after earning the MAC Commonwealth automatic berth. The tournament field will be announced on Sunday night at 9:30 at www.ncaa.com.