Grantham, PA — It is now officially safe to say that the Messiah women's soccer program and the month of October get along very, very well.
The Falcons — ranked second in the NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll for the third consecutive week — rattled off its eighth straight shut-out win Wednesday night, knocking off Albright College by an 8-0 score at Shoemaker Field. The win clinched the MAC Commonwealth Conference regular-season title for the club, assuring Messiah (16-0-2, 5-0) the top seed in the upcoming league playoffs and home-field advantage throughout.
Wednesday's romp also concluded a flawless month of October for the program, as the team did not allow a goal while averaging 5.25 scores per. It was only the latest in a history of October success for the club, as Messiah has gone 42-1 over the last five seasons during that month. The only blemish was a 1-2 overtime loss to Oneota College on Oct. 21 of 2006.
“We only have two goals every year,” said Messiah head coach Scott Frey. “To win our next game and to win our last game. Everything we do is geared toward that. Do we want to win the conference? Sure. But hopefully that's a byproduct of (our goals).”
Wednesday's win over Albright (7-8, 0-5) produced more than just another dominating slash in the win column, as junior Amanda Naeher registered her fourth hat trick of the season. In doing so, Naeher's season goal count advanced to 25 and her season point total to 56 — both new single-season program records. Naeher surpassed 2007 graduate Stef Rowe's 2006 tally of 23 goals, while '07 grad Annie Futato previously held the record for total points (53 set in her freshman season).
Things got underway quickly for Messiah Wednesday, as Naeher tied Rowe's goal record just 8:22 into action. Making her first collegiate start, sophomore Jennifer Fessler crossed the ball toward classmate Joanna Haqq. Haqq dummied the ball through her legs in slipping it to Naeher, and the strong forward blasted the game's first score into the upper netting.
That goal began a methodical journey to a 5-0 lead at halftime, as for the fourth time of the season Messiah prevented an opponent from registering either a shot or a corner kick. Freshman Rachel Loya was the beneficiary of a Naeher assist at the 17:34 moment, taking the feed on a mini-breakaway and finishing her fourth career goal. Haqq then took advantage of a Naeher shot that banged off the cross bar eight minutes later, waiting seemingly an eternity for the skyward ball to return to earth. When it did, Haqq headed it into the back of the net at the 25:47 mark, completing Naeher's second assist of the evening.
Junior Amy Horst then finished a cross from Loya with 30:53 elapsed, waiting at the back post as Loya got in on the right flank. Horst one-touched the serve into the upper 90 to make it a 4-0 contest.
When a busted play occurred in front of the Lions' 18-yard box with under a minute and a half to play before intermission, senior Kacie Klynstra provided perhaps the most violent of the Falcons' goals. Sophomore Sarah Henningsen had a deflected pass drop back to an onrushing Klynstra just steps outside the top of the Lions' box, and the senior midfielder absolutely crushed a volley from 20 yards out.
It was a fitting end to a first half that produced 17 Messiah shots and total possession control throughout.
“I thought we made some really good decisions with the ball and scored some nice goals tonight, goals out of our system and out of what we try to do every day in practice,” Frey said. “I thought we were disciplined and, as a result, got good opportunities on goal.”
Naeher quickly tacked on her second and third goals at the outset of the second period, as an assist from sophomore Marla Sensi led to an 18-yard low blast at the 46:15 mark while an unassisted effort tallied another at 48:28. Quickly substituted for, Naeher and the majority of Messiah's starters watched the second half from the sidelines. Sensi tacked on her fourth career goal at the 62:06 mark, taking a pass from freshman Olivia Scott and touching it past Albright goalkeeper Keeley Peltz to provide the final scoring difference.
The Falcons will wrap up regular-season play Saturday, when the team travels to rival Elizabethtown College for a 2 p.m. showdown. That result — along with several other league matches — will help finalize the post-season tournament field and Messiah's first opponent.
“Saturday should be fun,” Frey said. “It's a rivalry, and it's always a good one. It's one of those games where you can always throw out the (win-loss) records and is always high-paced. It should be a good one.”
