YORK, PA – The York College field hockey squad fashioned a solid effort to earn a tight 3-2 win against previously unbeaten University of Scranton on Saturday afternoon in York.

The Spartans scored the first three goals of the game and then hung on when the Royals scored a goal in the second and one more in the fourth to slice the lead to one. York would be able to kill off the remainder of the game to earn the victory.

York improves to 2-1 overall while the Royals suffered their first setback of the year as they are now 3-1.
 
How It Happened
• The Royals had a little better of the play early in the first quarter but the Spartan defense was able to get some stops to keep Scranton off the board. York's goal came off their first penalty corner with 5:20 left in the period. York got the initial shot on the penalty corner as Becca Olsen's attempt was saved. Fortunately for York, Kate Egan was in the right spot as she collected the rebound and poked home the second chance for the 1-0 lead. The goal is her first of the year.
• York wasted little time in adding to the lead at the start of the second quarter. Claire Burrows scooped up a loose ball in the circle. She smacked a perfect pass to the back post where Kelbie Linebaugh finished off the chance for the 2-0 lead. That goal came just 1:09 into the quarter.
• York got their third goal on a great individual effort from Linebaugh 4:10 into the quarter. She alertly stole a clearing pass and drove the ball into the cage after a few dribbles for her third goal of the campaign. The Royals got on the board as they had a rebound goal of their own later in the second quarter. Scranton's Annie Shaw had a chance cleared off the line by Olsen. Unfortunately for York, Olsen's save went right to Shana Goldsmith who poked home the rebound for the goal.
• The third quarter was quiet as York held a slight 3-1 edge in shots but neither team was able to change the score.
• The Spartans came out firing to start the fourth quarter as they wanted to tack onto their lead. York put three shots on goal in the first four minutes of the period but Scranton goalie Maclean Thuermer stood tall and kept the Spartans off the board. After the third save, the Royals completely flipped the script and started to really pressure the Spartans. That pressure finally paid off with 2:54 left in regulation as Lydia Bechtel scored off a pass from Maggie Keys, cutting the Spartan lead to 3-2. York was able to get back on balance and kill off the remainder of the year for their second win of the year.
• The game was very close statistically. York out shot the Royals 12-11 including 10-9 in shots on goal. Both teams had eight penalty corners in the match.
 
Spartan Notes
York is now 3-0 all-time against Scranton with all three meetings coming in the last three seasons … York has now scored three goals in their last two games …. York put a season-high ten shots on goal in the win … Becca Olsen had York's third defensive save of the year in the victory … sophomore Kelbie Linebaugh scored a career-high two goals in the win as she now has a team-high three goals for the year … junior goalie Abby Smith made a career-high six saves in the win … Kate Egan scored her first goal of the year and the fourth of her Spartan career.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head out on the road for their first away game of the year. York heads to Swarthmore on Wednesday night to face the Garnet in a non-conference game. The match is slated for a 7:00 pm start in Swarthmore, PA.