Grantham, PA — On paper, Tuesday afternoon's tilt between fourth-ranked Messiah College and visiting Shenandoah University was a clear mismatch.
The game did not prove differently.
Messiah (7-1) blasted a season-high 50 shots en route to a 13-0 blanking of the visiting Hornets, a score that could have been much worse had the Falcons pressed the issue. All available Messiah players played — and played some more — with nine athletes recording scores in the team's highest goal output of the year.
“Shenandoah is a fledgling program,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah head coach. “They're getting a field turf put in at their place and they'll be joining our conference. They have a great coach and things will pick up for them.”
While positive in nature, those sentiments did little to help Shenandoah (0-13) Tuesday afternoon, as the Hornets were short-handed in arriving with just 11 available players.
Naturally, the Falcons' onslaught did not take long to commence. Junior Jenna Max scored unassisted from the right side of the circle just over two minute into play, a result duplicated just seconds later from junior Katie Love.
Love would go on to card a hat trick in the game, adding goals at the 2:44 and 40:34 marks.
Junior Elizabeth Ziegler got in the act with 8:08 elapsed following a pass from sophomore Julie Barton, while sophomore Kourtney Ehly made it a 5-0 affair with 11:44 gone off an assist from senior Nikki Bailey.
Junior Katrina Campbell scored her first goal as a Falcon at the 31:33 mark, while sophomore Lauren Voigt made it a 7-0 game with just nine seconds to play before the intermission.
Love, Max, Barton, Bailey, Voigt and junior Lauren Tennis all added scores in the latter 35 minutes, finalizing the statistical sheet with 50 shots — 37 of which were on goal — and 24 penalty corners.
Shenandoah goalkeeper Danielle Lawson had a busy afternoon, finishing with 24 saves. The Hornets attempted no shots on the game, controlling only a minimal portion of possession.
“We tried to do the things that we work on,” Trapp said. “I thought the girls played team ball all the way through.”
Things get much tougher for Messiah next, as the team travels to eighth-ranked Lebanon Valley College Saturday for a pivotal MAC Commonwealth Conference showdown. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
