YORK, Pa. --- Fourth-ranked York College of Pennsylvania used a four-goal run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 14-12 victory over 13th-ranked Washington and Lee in the third round of the NCAA Tournament at Kinsley Field on Saturday evening.
The game featured three ties in the opening 18 minutes and change and York (19-2) led 9-8 with 4:55 left in the third quarter following an unassisted goal by W&L (16-5) junior midfielder Jack Ware (Baltimore, Md. / Towson).
However, the game turned just 3:15 later when York first-year midfielder Eben Ordakowski dodged his defender and beat W&L sophomore goalkeeper Jack Taylor (Baltimore, Md. / Saint Paul's) for a 10-8 lead. The Spartan advantage grew to 11-8 on a goal by junior midfielder Gunnar Reynolds at 13:50 of the fourth quarter, and YCP added two more scores in a span of 44 seconds to open a 13-8 lead with 9:58 left to play.
The Generals fought back with three goals in a span of 1:06 to pull within two scores (13-11) with 7:09 remaining. Senior attackman A.J. Witherell (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) scored man-up at 8:15, and junior midfielder Jack Hodgson (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's) won the ensuing faceoff and went straight to goal, beating York first-year goalkeeper Jack Michael to pull W&L within 13-10. Witherell then scored another unassisted tally at 7:09 to make it a 13-11 game.
But York stemmed the momentum when senior midfielder Billy Sasso won the next faceoff and scored himself just 11 seconds later to stretch the Spartan lead back to three (14-11). W&L climbed back within two (14-12) on an unassisted goal by first-year attackman Garrett Mize (Dallas, Texas / St. Mark's) with 2:34 remaining, but the Generals could get no closer in falling to York for the fifth-straight time.
Each team took 37 shots in the contest, while the Spartans held advantages in ground balls (32-23) and faceoffs (18-12). In a cleanly-played contest, both teams finished with 11 turnovers as well.
Mize led the Generals with a season-high tying four points on three goals and one assist. Witherell scored three goals to finish his career with a program-record 317 points on a school-record 191 goals and 126 assists. Ware totaled two goals and one assist, and Taylor finished with 11 saves in 60 minutes of action.
Senior attackman Hunter Davis led the Spartans with four goals, while senior midfielder Brad Casale added three scores of his own. Michael recorded eight saves while playing the duration in goal.
W&L finishes its season with a 16-5 overall record, tying the program-record for victories. York advances to play Cabrini in an NCAA Quarterfinal contest on Wednesday.
--- This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University sports information department. ---
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