By Zach Siegel

A BIT of wind and snow Sunday didn’t stop the #6 York Spartans from absolutely manhandling the E-Town Blue Jays 17-6 in a game at Kinsley Field.

First half

The game got off to a quick start with the Spartans going up 4-0 in the first quarter. York defense had to be bored with what felt like the entire first quarter being played in the Blue Jays’ end. The score at the half would end up being 10-1 with York scoring what felt like at will. Will Harnick, in particular, was an absolute problem for the E-town defense, scoring a game-high four goals all in the first half. Also, very impressive from the Spartans was how cleanly they executed fundamental stuff like passing and ground balls that gave them the foundation to put together solid playmaking. When the ball did make it into the York end, goalie Jack Michael and his defense looked completely in sync. The defense played with the perfect balance of physicality and pressure and was able to limit the Blue Jays to just one goal in the first half scored by Owen Yake.

Second half

With a stellar lead already established the Spartans didn’t get lazy in the second half. They would score three in the third quarter with freshman Ben Mayer completing a solid hat trick midway through the quarter. In the fourth quarter E-town outscored the Spartans 5-4, but this slight resurgence from E-town didn’t even make a dent in the end. With such a large lead going into the fourth, head coach Brandon Childs was able to rest some of his starting players and work in some of the younger players off the bench. E-town’s Owen Yake proved to be an issue for York, scoring three of the five scored by the Blue Jays in the fourth quarter.

Standout performances

On the offensive side of play attackers Harnick and Mayer led the way. Several players added to their goal tallies including Eric Rank, Dylan Wolf, Michael Russo, Jacob Helheim, Zach Mentzer, Hugo Spencer, and Jarrod Marenger.

Coach Brandon Childs and Offensive Coordinator Ryan Drenner had to be pleased with how many different York College players scored goals in the game. On the defensive side, Ethan Greene and Brent Blackmon were a force, leading the Spartans to dominate the game in ground balls and forced turnovers. And for those who follow this team, you won’t be surprised that Michael led the York goalies with nine saves and .692 save percentage.

With this win the Spartans improved their record to 5-2 and look to get a winning run going on Wednesday when they head to Reading to face Alvernia for their first conference matchup of the season. For the full box score of the game be sure to check out the YCP athletics website and follow the YCP men’s lacrosse Twitter for live updates on games and links to live stream the games from wherever you are.

Zach Siegel is a junior majoring in Mass Communication.

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