Glenside, PA — A six-day postponement could not slow the surging impetus that is the Messiah men's soccer program Thursday afternoon, as the Falcons carded their fourth straight shut-out win in a 3-0 decision at Arcadia University.
The win assured Messiah (13-2-2, 4-1) a berth in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Conference Playoffs, while giving added relevance to Saturday's mega-rivalry match-up with Elizabethtown College: A Falcons' win could propel the team to the league tournament's top seed, while a loss could drop the club all the way to number three.
With Elizabethtown (7-8-2, 2-3) needing a win over Messiah to bolster its chances of qualifying for post-season play, Saturday's contest at Shoemaker Field has the prefix to be an all-out battle.
But don't try selling the league's post-season possibilities as a storyline to the Falcons' coaching staff. They aren't buying.
“That (conference tournament breakdown scenario) stuff is like Greek to me and (head) coach (Dave Brandt),” said Brad McCarty, Messiah assistant coach. “We just focus on our next game, which tonight was Arcadia. I thought we played very, very well, and I thought our guys did a great job of finding feet and putting some combinations together. We did that on a field that doesn't lend itself to being able to possess the ball, but I thought our guys possessed the ball really well.”
Facing the host Knights after a day-long storm postponed the originally scheduled game from last Saturday, Messiah picked up from where it left off in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Albright College. Competing for the first time in program history at Arcadia (6-11, 1-4), Messiah also retired the Knights' current pitch in a single swoop: Thursday's contest was the last to be held on Arcadia's existing field, as the institution will unveil a new facility at the outset of the 2009-2010 academic year.
That project will benefit all involved, as the Knights' turf boasted a bumpy surface in one of the tightest spaces allowed by NCAA rules.
Those challenges did not hinder the Falcons from putting up another dominating statistical performance, however, as Messiah rattled off 22 shots to Arcadia's two.
Ranked ninth in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll, Messiah got on the board in the contest's 26th minute, as a free kick was awarded 35 yards away from Arcadia's goal following one of the Knights' nine fouls. Senior Josh Sanders sent a curling ball into the box, which was headed back by senior Brett Crompton. Sophomore Geoff Pezon was there to volley the redirect into the back of the net, putting the Falcons ahead 1-0 with 26:23 gone.
That score would remain unchanged until the final 22 minutes of play, as Messiah withstood a spirited 10-minute push from the hosts before methodically wearing Arcadia down. Sophomore Nick Thompson recorded his fourth goal of the season at the 68:31 mark, getting a through ball from Sanders and beating a defender while on the move. The lanky midfielder then fired a shot just moments before a second defender came on, his effort deflecting off of Arcadia keeper Jeff Krathowill and into the lower netting for a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Trevor Lee then made the final score come to reality at the 81:40 moment, being in the right place at the right time following a well-struck ball from classmate Kent Ramirez. Operating on the right wing, Ramirez cut the ball back and launched a rocket that ricocheted off Krathowill. Lee was there to whack the loose change across the end line for his fifth collegiate goal.
Junior goalkeeper Jared Clugston picked up his sixth shut out of the season in a full 90 minutes in goal, making one save. A testament to the field's tight quarters, Messiah recorded just three corner kicks on the afternoon — Arcadia attempted two.
“Even though we possessed the ball well, it was still hard to get behind,” McCarty said. “We were able to create some scoring chances though, and it was huge to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead. I thought Arcadia came out very strong at the start of the second half, and they did a nice job of pressuring us and keeping play in the midfield. We kind of wore them down as the game went on. We were very pleased with both the result and how we played today.”
Messiah's regular-season finale may need no introduction, but the corresponding conference playoff scenario does. Should Messiah win Saturday against E'Town and Lycoming College (4-1) win at Widener University (2-3), the Falcons would collect the conference tournament's top seed by virtue of a lengthy tie-breaking procedure. A Messiah win and Lycoming loss would give the Falcons the two seed, while an E'Town win over Messiah could pit the Falcons at either the three or two seed, depending on the Lycoming-Widener result.
“The Elizabethtown-Messiah game is obviously a big rivalry, and it's always a very intense game,” McCarty said. “They always bring their best to the game, regardless of (win-loss) records or playoff chances. It will be a tight game, and I wouldn't expect anything less.”
Messiah will host Elizabethtown Saturday night at Shoemaker Field, closing out both teams' regular-season slate. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
