Grantham, PA — For those who misunderstood Messiah head coach Dave Brandt's frustration the first time the Falcons hosted Widener University, please see Saturday night's MAC Commonwealth Championship contest as Exhibit A.
Messiah pounded the visiting Pride by a 7-0 score to win its second consecutive league title, while an accompanying automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament will be announced sometime Monday.
Brandt's club finished seven of its 24 total shots in Saturday's win, proving what it could do when focused: Messiah narrowly edged Widener by a 1-0 score in the teams' league opener in early October, despite registering a season-high 32 shots in that contest.
Saturday night at Shoemaker Field, the jerseys were the same, but the game was much different. The Falcons followed their first meeting against Widener with a pair of losses and a tie. Coming into Saturday, Messiah (16-2-2) was riding a six-game winning streak, outscoring its opponents by a cumulative 23-1 score during that time.
Tack on a season-high seven scores in Saturday's championship win, and it's not a bad way to be entering NCAA post-season play.
“It has a lot to do with the way soccer goes,” Brandt said when asked about the discrepancy between his team's results against Widener. “Whether you get 24 shots or 32, that's plenty. Tonight we were able to score goals, and that obviously makes a difference.”
Ironically, it was Messiah's lone goal scorer from its initial tilt against Widener (9-8-2) who got things rolling Saturday night. Sophomore Geoff Pezon took a cross from senior Calvin Todd on the left flank, leapt into the air and volleyed a brilliant finish at the 16:35 mark — a much earlier score compared to his 66:32 game-winner in the teams' first meeting.
It did not take long for Messiah to completely take the wheels off Widener's game plan after that, as additional scores at the 19:25, 34:27, 35:14 and 40:18 marks made it a 5-0 rout by halftime. Senior Josh Sanders registered his eighth score of the season in the 19th minute, heading in a gorgeous serve from freshman Derek Black on the left wing. Black then did the finishing in the 34th minute, taking a low cross from classmate Danny Thompson and ripping a hard shot past Widener keeper Hamed Correa to make it a 3-0 game.
When sophomore Nick Thompson was able to head in a cross from senior Matt Dorsey less than a minute later, all drama was lost. Younger brother Danny then scored on perhaps the most exciting goal of the evening, winning a ball at midfield and carrying it all the way to the end line. Thompson stayed steps ahead of the chasing defense and juked Correa at the last moment for a rare fast break goal, coming less than five minutes before the intermission.
The game's final 45 minutes were only a formality, as Messiah — ranked eighth in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — continued its possession dominance through the final horn. Senior JD Binger got into the scoring act with 55:53 elapsed, lingering around the goal box after a corner kick was double-crossed from classmate Brett Crompton. Following an initial serve by Pezon from the right flag, Crompton tracked down a loose ball on the left wing and served the ball back into the Pride's box. Binger was camped out near the right post, heading the ball into the net from just yards off the line.
Black then tallied his second score of the game at the 66:34 mark, picking up a deflected ball and rifling a low blast to the near post to finalize the game's scoring.
Messiah's 24 shots were equally divided between the halves. Widener recorded just one shot on the night, an effort that was saved by junior keeper Jared Clugston in the first half.
Sanders was awarded tournament MVP honors, being a consistent target for Messiah in both the Falcons' last two game and the latter half of the season overall.
“There are two differences,” Brandt said about his team's recent play versus that of early October. “One, we're playing much better and sharper than we were a month ago and two, we've made significant personnel changes. I thought we did some good things tonight. The conference championship is an important step in a process in which we hope to go far.”
Messiah will now await word of its NCAA Tournament placement, as the selection committee will announce the field sometime Monday. Check back to GoMessiah.com for the absolute latest information on the Falcons' post-season run, as that news will be made known as soon as it becomes available.
