York, PA - The Falcons of Messiah College defeated the No. 6 Spartans of York College 8-7 in overtime Saturday afternoon. Messiah trailed 5-4 during halftime and outscored the Spartans 4-2 to capture the upset victory.

The first quarter started with the Spartans scoring first. The Falcons turned the ball over in the midfield and York's Andrew Gamble scored off a fast break and put the Spartans ahead of the Falcons 1-0.
 
Messiah wasted little time to respond with a goal of their own by an unassisted score from Justin Bradley. Later in the quarter, Drew Pagenkopf circled the crease and found Block Knobloch up top. Knobloch ripped a shot from 15 yards out and put the Falcons up 2-1 over the Spartans to end the first quarter.
 
The second quarter started with three unanswered goals from the Spartans. Tyler Hutson found Andrew Warburton by the crease and tied the game at two. Next, the Spartans Andrew Gamble and Dillon Hannah each scored a pulled the Spartans ahead of the Falcons 4-2.
 
Messiah responded in a big way when defenseman Cody Rogers cleared the ball for the Falcons and went coast-to-coast for the unassisted goal. The score had the Falcons trail the Spartans 4-3 and gave Messiah momentum.
 
After the Cody Rogers goal, Tyler Goglio found Will Franken on the crease and Franken made an athletic play for the score. With the score tied at four, York's Tyler Hutson found the back of the net and gave the Spartans a 5-4 lead heading into halftime.
 
The second half of play didn't see much scoring from either team. The Falcons struck first with an unassisted goal from Justin Bradley. The Spartans countered with a goal of their own from Taylor Tolbert. With time winding down in the third quarter, Tyler Goglio found some space from the left wing and scored to tie the game at six.
 
Messiah dominated offensive possession in the fourth quarter and finally found a goal from will Franken with 5:00 remaining. Franken made a  quick dodge and scord the goal to put the Falcons up 7-6.
 
Just when the Falcons thought they had won the game, the Spartans Tyler Hutson found Matt Whitcher on the crease and tied the game as time ran out in regulation.
 
Messiah and York played a scoreless overtime until Justin Bradley dodged and split through the Spartan defense and scored as time expired in the period. The goal was Bradley's third of the game and the game winner for Messiah as they won 8-7.
 
The victory improves Messiah to 2-2 overall, and still 0-1 in the Commonwealth. The Falcons will next play on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. when they travel to Goucher College.