The "Ole" chant coming from ecstatic York College fans was a much different tune for the Spartans than they heard during their last playoff appearance.

Last season, York was eliminated from the NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament with a semifinal loss to Wesley College in penalty kicks. The bitter taste still hung in the air when York hosted Stevenson University in the 2009 Capital Athletic Conference title game Saturday.

This season, the Spartans took a "one-game-at-a-time" approach, and it has paid off so far as York beat the Mustangs, 2-1, to win the league crown and earn an automatic bid to the Division III tourney.

It's the fourth CAC tournament men's championship in program history, and the third in five seasons.

Head

York College's Antonio Bua gets in the face of Stevenson's Nick Gault after a series of aggressive plays during Saturday's game. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Jason Plotkin)
coach Mark Ludwig said that in previous years, his team might have looked beyond the championship game to the NCAA tournament. But this year he made sure his squad's mission was a bit more simple.

"Our focus at the beginning of the year was to get better every game," Ludwig said. "I really think this makes a good statement for our program."

York (15-1-4) dominated an overly physical game by Stevenson that saw the visitors (12-9) pick up six yellow cards, including five in the first half. The Spartans controlled play offensively throughout, outshooting Stevenson, 24-4, and holding a 7-0 edge on corner kicks.

"We just need to keep our heads the entire game," said All-American Jon Ports. "We're just taking things day-by-day now. We can't look forward at all."

Junior forward Mike O'Connell began the scoring early for York in the first half. Senior captain Ports took a ball on the end line and slid it into O'Connell, who tapped it in past Mustangs keeper Ryan Flannelly just 9:48 into the match.

The goal was O'Connell's team-leading 10th of the season.

The Spartans jump-started the home crowd later when senior Brett Sauerberger slashed into the middle on a corner kick from junior Lucas Emil and one-timed the shot right into the net for a 2-0 cushion with 17:40 left to play. It was Sauerberger's second goal of the year.

"I couldn't really control myself," Sauerberger said. "That is the best feeling ever and I can't really describe it."

The lead lasted for another 14 minutes of play before Stevenson trimmed its deficit to one and put pressure on the Spartan defense.

Mustang freshman Roderick Linkonko dribbled to the end line and crossed a nice ball to sophomore Kyle Baker on the opposite post.

Baker tipped a shot in that was deflected by York keeper Ryan Hock, but found its way into the side net for the score with 3:28 left to play.

The Spartans held the Mustangs off the board the rest of the way.

For the seniors on the York team, this marked their second CAC tournament championship in their four years as Spartans. The previous crown came in their freshman season of 2006.

The win is also sweeter for O'Connell, who redshirted last season with an ACL injury to his knee.

"We wanted to bring the CAC title back where it belongs," O'Connell said. "I worked really hard to get back on the field this season, and this is just icing on the cake."
  

YORK 2, STEVENSON 1
Stevenson -- 0   1 -- 1
York College -- 1   1 -- 2

   First Half -- 1, York, Mike O'Connell (Jon Ports), 35:12.
   Second Half -- 2, York, Brett Sauerberger (Lucas Emil), 72:20; 3, Stevenson, Kyle Baker (Roderick Linkonko), 86:32.
   Shots On Goal -- Stevenson 1, York 7.
   Corners -- Stevenson 0, York 7.
   Goalies -- Stevenson, Ryan Flannelly (5 saves); York, Ryan Hock (0 saves).