YORK, Pa. --- Lynchburg College brought its season record against York (Pa.) College to 2-0 with a 10-8 triumph over the Spartans at YCP's Kinsley Field. The Hornets, who trounced the Spartans 9-8 in double-overtime in the third game of the their 2017 schedule, move on to face Denison University on May 17 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
The Basics
Score -- Lynchburg 10, York 8
Location -- York, Pa. (Kinsley Field)
Records -- Lynchburg (15-6); York (17-4)
From the Face-Off
In a rematch from earlier in the season, the Hornets and Spartans engaged in a thrilling contest on Saturday afternoon. Despite the precipitation, the atmosphere at Kinsley Field was lively. The stands were filled with fans from both schools and the sidelines were anxious to get the game underway. The first period was a back and forth affair but the second period was far different, as Lynchburg outscored York (Pa.), 6-2 to hold an 8-3 lead at the half. The Hornets were content to keep the ball in their offensive third but the Spartans would make it interesting down the stretch, scoring twice in the final two minutes. The valiant last-ditch effort was not enough as the final horn sounded and the Hornets were the victors over the Spartans for the second time this season, earning a trip the the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
How It Happened
- Junior CJ Santora would make a save at the 13:11 mark and proceed to make his way from the defensive end into the offensive third, dodging defenders as he went, eventually being tripped up by a York defender which earned the Hornets a man-up advantage. With the advantage, junior Colin McGuire found fellow junior Shayne O'Brien to open the scoring
- Exactly 60 seconds later, the Spartans responded with a goal by Thomas Pfeiffer from his off hand
- Unselfish play highlighted the Hornets second goal, as the team's leading scorer, sophomore Evan Lombrado, passed on a shooting opportunity to find fellow sophomore Andrew Thomas for an even higher percentage look which the attacker buried to put Lynchburg back on top, 2-1
- Matt Whitcher brought the score back to all square with a goal at the 1:58 mark and then opened the second period with another score, giving York (Pa.) a 3-2 lead
- Senior Harrison Brennan responded by striping a beautiful cross-crease pass to sophomore Logan Adams who placed his shot beautifully past the York (Pa.) keeper
- Adams went back-to-back, slotting a shot through the 5-hole of the Spartan keeper, putting his team ahead 4-3
- Building momentum, Lombardo tallied another point, this time a rip that found the back of the net at the 6:39 mark as McGuire would be credited with the assist
- Senior Chris Camarca tallied an assist at the 5:49 mark after finding Lombardo, who went low to high again, pushing the Hornets lead to three. Following the face-off
- Coach Childs called a timeout to slow the Lynchburg momentum but it didn't do much as the Hornets regained possession and the sophomore duo of Thomas and Adams connected for a goal just 40 seconds after the timeout
- With just 16 seconds left in the half, freshman Kevin Rogers found the back of the cage to cap off a 6-0 run for the Hornets which sent them into the locker room with an 8-3 lead
- York (Pa.) came out of the break with some fire as Cameron Leech scored four minutes into the third period and assisted on the next goal, finding Brendan McGrath cutting the Lynchburg lead to 8-5
- Lombardo cut into the Spartans building momentum, firing a shot past the keeper with just 23 seconds left in the period, putting his team back up by four
- Brennan unleashed a rocket that stretched the side netting just over a minute into the final period, setting Lynchburg out ahead comfortably, 10-5
- The Spartans took capitalized on a man-up advantage, scoring with just under 10 minutes to play
- York (Pa.) scored with 1:46 to play, won the face-off, called a timeout and just 16 seconds later scored again to put the score at 10-8
- Though the Spartans gave a valiant last ditch effort, the Hornets had dominated too much of the game and were able to hold of their opponent for the second time this year and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament
From the Box Score
- Lombardo led the Hornets with four points off of three goals and an assist
- Adams and Thomas combined for four goals and an assist
- Rogers and O'Brien each had one goal while Brennan had a goal and an assist as well
- Santora was all over the field but one of his biggest contributions on the day was making 19 saves
Up Next
Lyncburg squares of with Denison University on Wednesday, May 17, at a time and location yet to be determined. Be sure to check back to www.ncaa.com and www.lynchburgsports.com for further updates.
--- This release is courtesy of the Lynchburg College sports information department. ---
www.lynchburgsports.com