York, PA — Hosting seventh-ranked Messiah College Wednesday afternoon, the York College women's soccer team had a moment — albeit fleeting — of euphoria.
Less than 30 seconds into play, the host Spartans took the opening tap and somehow got behind the Messiah line of defense, scoring a goal that appeared to give the hosts a miraculous, 1-0 lead before anyone had time to generate a sweat.
But then, the flag went up.
Offsides was called.
The sense of elation for York was over.
Messiah (9-0-2) went on to control possession — and the game —recording 28 shots to York's three in a 3-0 victory. It was just the Falcons' second road win of the year, after a pair of scoreless ties at both Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University helped account for a sudden slide in the NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll (Messiah was the top-ranked team in all of NCAA Division III for the previous week).
Regardless of what the pollsters think, Wednesday's game was another typical Messiah win, as the Falcons were able to turn often against a pressuring York side. Following the Spartans' early break through, Messiah's back line shored up and pressed up, keeping York shot-less in the game's first 45 minutes.
“Overall I thought we played pretty well,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “York is a very scrappy team that runs down every single ball with great effort. At times we struggled against their pressure, but by in large our backs did fairly well. It was a good win on the road for us.”
Frey's team did not take long to erase the scoreless tie, as sophomore Joanna Haqq dribbled down the left sideline less than 10 minutes into play. Haqq sent an arching ball toward the far post, nearly indeterminable to the Spartans' defense if it was a shot or a cross.
As York keeper Desiree Halaka decided on the former, she lunged for the ball. Just out of her reach, it skimmed off the head of charging senior Rachel Horning, who was credited her fifth goal of the year at the 9:20 mark.
Messiah would carry the 1-0 lead into halftime and beyond, eventually securing an insurance goal at the 64:53 mark. Junior Amanda Naeher picked up a loose ball near midfield and dribbled all the way down to the top of the 18-yard box, where she found a seam between three York defenders and rifled a low shot to the far post for a 2-0 lead.
Junior Amy Horst then collected a rare throw-in assist at the 79:17 mark, tossing the ball to sophomore Erin Hench at the top of York's 18. Hench turned after receiving the ball and laced a low ball to the near post, finalizing the game's scoring with her 10th notch of the season.
“I thought our girls that came on (in substitution) did a great job of sustaining pressure for us and possessing the ball,” Frey said. “The energy that York played with was really good. They pressured everything and tried to force us into mistakes. We were finally able to break through, though, and get some things going on their end.”
Messiah will next return to Shoemaker Field following a three-match road swing, opening MAC Commonwealth Conference play Saturday against Widener University. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
“Conference play is always a new animal,” Frey said. “Teams know us awfully well, teams are playing for results. . .it's a new intensity, no doubt.”
