Grantham, PA — It was a strategy that surprised Messiah head coach Scott Frey.
It was also a good thing he didn't try to do anything about it.
Messiah captured its eighth conference championship in the last nine years with a 2-0 win over visiting Elizabethtown College Saturday night, notching a pair of goals in a 10-minute, first-half span to thwart an all-hands-on-deck defensive approach from the Blue Jays. That tactic was somewhat interesting to Frey and company, as Elizabethtown had scored first in Messiah's 5-1 regular-season finale win at E'Town one week ago.
It would not matter in the long run Saturday, however, as goals at the 26:30 and 36:55 marks provided Messiah (19-0-2) with all the breathing room it would need. Frey said Messiah's initial score came moments before he and his staff were ready to make a tactical change to try and combat E'Town's packed defensive third.
“Sometimes the best coaching changes are the ones you don't make,” Frey joked Saturday night. “E'Town is a team that obviously has the ability to come at us, so it was interesting tactically for them to sit back and try to shorten the game. At the same time, you can understand it. They're trying to find a way to win and get in (to the NCAA Tournament). Overall, I was very pleased with the way we played and handled it.”
The Blue Jays made no concessions for its game plan early, as Elizabethtown (13-6-2) refused to send more than one player — if any — into Messiah's half of the field from the start. Frey's club responded with a precision attack, as generous time and space were luxuries in the backfield throughout.
With Elizabethtown packing its own 18-yard box, however, finding room to get off quality shots became an issue. While Messiah would go on to take a 2-0 lead at the half, it came off just seven total first-half shots. That number that would increase to 17 for the game — a Falcons' season-low in that category when not considering the team's 14 total shots against Johns Hopkins University Sept. 10.
Messiah's big break came in the 26th minute, when senior Rachel Horning was able to cut an outside defender and serve a ball into the congested goal box. Sophomore Joanna Haqq was among the sea of humanity working to make contact, and she caught a break after a deflection caromed off the near post. Standing just yards off the end line, Haqq toe-bashed the loose change between an E'Town defender's legs, setting off a wild celebration on the field.
“Every first goal you get is important, but that one took off a huge amount of pressure,” Frey said.
With Elizabethtown refusing to change its strategy, Messiah — ranked second in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — made things a bit more daunting just over 10 minutes later. Junior Amy Horst sent a cross from the left flank that was redirected by senior Kacie Klynstra, while sophomore Erin Hench finished the job: Racing in from the middle of the field, Hench slid in to get the ball past Blue Jays' keeper Angela Freeland, making it a 2-0 game with eight minutes to play in the half.
“Getting the second one really changed things,” Frey said. “Now they have to get two. I thought our girls did a really good job of not forcing the play. We were smart with the ball, made good decisions and took what they gave us. It can be challenging to play against that, and it's easy to get frustrated and want to force the issue. I didn't think we did that tonight.”
With a comfortable lead in hand, Messiah shifted its concentration to the possession game in the second half, an area in which the team dominated equally. Ten second-half shots went begging, but the Falcons' mid- and backfield lines were up for any and all tests. Sophomore outside back Katie Hoffsmith earned tournament MVP honors for her work, while Frey praised the play of his defensive unit as a whole.
“I thought our back line played really well in both tournament games,” he said. “(Senior goalkeeper) Brindley (Beckwith) came off her line well and controlled the box, and Katie was just fantastic. We put her back there to chase (Elizabethtown leading scorers) Jenna Russo and Brooke Dotterer, and she was just tenacious. She was also great offensively, playing some really good balls and getting our attack going.”
While the win was Messiah's eighth league title in the last nine years — Elizabethtown offered the only glitch in a 1-0 defeat in 2006 — Frey made it clear that it does not get old, or any less special.
“You have to remember, it's the first one for this group,” Frey said. “It's always exciting to win it. To do it against your rivals is especially nice. We've worked hard for it.”
Messiah will now await word of its NCAA Tournament placement, as the NCAA will broadcast the Division III Women's Soccer Selection show Monday at noon. That show will be streamed live via video webcast at NCAA.com. The Falcons' post-season information will be made available at this website as it becomes known.
