Box Score
Grantham, PA – It would be hard to imagine anyone in the country having a tougher early-season schedule than the Falcons. On Saturday, one would need to look no further than Messiah's hard-fought, scrappy 2-0 win over Misericordia University—the Falcons' fourth NSCAA Top 25 opponent in their past seven games.
The Falcons, ranked No. 3 in the most recent NSCAA ranking, defeated the No. 21 Cougars on Saturday night behind goals from seniors Tania Nieto and
Rachel Scheibeler. The win moves the Falcons to 6-1-1 on the season, with the Cougars falling to the same record.
“This game was everything I expected it to be,” Messiah head coach
Scott Frey said of the team's win over the Cougars. “(Misericordia) is a good team, and they've been on the rise for the past couple seasons. There is no surprise as to why they're ranked, and their record represents how good they are.”
Playing with a physical approach, the Cougars pressed early into the Falcons to try and take advantage of the speedy play of forwards Sam Helmstetter (4 goals, 4 assists in 2012) and Laura Roney (7 goals, 5 assists). Tested by the visitor's attack, the Messiah defense answered the call throughout the night to hold the Cougars scoreless—and to hold Helmstetter and Roney to a combined two shots.
“Our back row hung in there,” Frey said. “They did a great job of limiting chances, and Audra (Larson) made some really big plays.”
Larson, the Falcons first year keeper, made two saves in each half to keep Misericordia off the board.
As for the Falcons, they put two goals on the scoreboard in a span of less than six minutes in the first half. The scoreless tie was broken in the 23rd minute off the foot of senior Tania Nieto. The midfielder scored off a cross by junior
Alicia Frey, striking the ball in the air as she was running to the left side of the goal.
The goal was Nieto's first of the season—and first since 2010 as she missed all of 2011 with an injury.
Just over five minutes later, the Falcons would go up 2-0 on a goal by Scheibeler. Assisted by
Nikki Elsaesser, Scheibeler put a shot to the top-right corner of the goal from 23 yards out in the midfield. The ball bounded off the right post and into the net, setting off an ovation from the 1,600 fans in attendance.
“We were able to get behind them a little bit, and get some chances to score,” Frey said of the Falcons' attack on the Cougars. “We were able to possess enough to get some good chances.”
A few of the Falcons' best chances at another goal were left on the field, including two shots off the post in the second half—both from within 10 yards of the Cougars' goal.
“We couldn't get the third goal we were looking for, but it was battle all night,” Frey said of the game, which included a combined 32 fouls. “Both teams were really competing, and I'm proud of our girls for the way they battled for the entire game.”
Messiah outshot the Cougars 21-5, with a third of the Falcons' shot going on goal. Misericordia keeper Maureen Ciccosanti collected five saves in the loss.
With the win, Messiah will move onto their last scheduled non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, September 25. On that night, the Falcons will host Dickinson at 7:00 p.m.
