By Robert Belardi 

It never seemed like a game York United was entirely comfortable with. 

When you watch it over, you might find yourself asking a lot of questions. Why did he pass it there? What was he thinking? Not asking these questions in a wry manner, but in such a way as to understand the thought-process in each and every possession. 

Despite amassing 10 shots towards target, The Nine Stripes challenged Cavalry FC keeper Marco Carducci twice. 

With 74 per cent pass accuracy on the day, that statistic doesn't exactly look horrible, but York did succumb to only having 45 per cent possession of the ball. 

From the get-go, Cavalry began knocking on the door early. There was great movement from left-attacking midfielder Jose Escalante and fullback Bradley Vliet. Cavalry seemed to have challenged Chrisnovic N'Sa's side of the pitch, and looked dangerous as the first half progressed. 

York's best chance came from N'Sa himself as he struck the ball from about 25-yards out with his left boot, forcing Carducci to punch the ball over the bar on the stroke of half-time. Into the intermission, York began to garner some momentum, so it could have shaped up for an entertaining second half. 

Skipping over to the 55-minute, a ball in from right-attacking midfielder Mikaël Cantave found Escalante alone at the top of the area, and the midfielder tucked it in short post to open the scoring. 

It was almost 2-0 instantly, if it wasn't for the crossbar saving the day. Ali Adem Musse, venomously struck the ball from around 30-yards out and, much to the delight of goalkeeper Eleias Himaras, it hit off the crossbar and on the outer side of the goal line. 

Cavalry, who only accumulated seven shots towards goal, saw three of their attempts hit the net. The opposing club came up with a few other chances that could have easily made it 2-0. 

And York United's Lisandro Cabrera could have tied it up in the 85th minute, but instead the forward missed the net entirely. 

“We want to give it everything. You know, even if we're a bit off a playoff spot, we want to chase that. And, even if that's not possible, we want to play a part in knocking teams out. I think we are in good form. Tonight, was a tough one, but we'll bounce back. We've had lots of tough ones this season,” said York United midfielder Noah Verhoeven after the game. 

“Definitely a tough environment. It's very hard to come here for all the teams in the league. After the goal went in, you always want a reaction. We knew we were going to fight back. Our subs came in and were trying to make a difference. There [were] a couple of chances at the end that were unlucky. Maybe on another day they go in, a couple bounces go our way. But, just didn't happen today.” 

Next up, York United head out west this Saturday to take on Pacific FC. Kick-off is at 5:00 p.m. EST on One Soccer.