Grantham, PA — A fast start helped the Messiah College men's lacrosse team improve its overall record to the .500 mark, as the Falcons handed Ursinus College an 11-8 defeat Wednesday afternoon.
Messiah (4-4, 1-0) scored four goals in the first quarter — the game's only scores to that point — to claim an early 4-0 advantage in leading to the win over Bears. Ursinus (5-5, 3-1) used a pressuring defense and patient attack to try to wear on Messiah, but the Falcons hung on down the stretch: Another 4-0 run at the start of the second half helped Messiah to a 10-4 lead at one point, and the squad had successfully rebounded from a heartbreaking 7-6 defeat at Hampden-Sydney College just five days earlier.
“I was happy with getting the win, just not overly pleased with our execution today,” said Geof Weisenborn, Messiah head coach. “But the guys know that. Ursinus is a good team that has played tough competition early in the year, and their style is one that can make for a sloppy game. We got off to a hot start, and I think it kind of caught them off guard a bit.”
Ursinus — which pushed then-fifth-ranked Washington College to an 8-6 score just a week ago — had significant troubles slowing down senior Nick Ricucci Wednesday, as the attack scored Messiah's first four goals in an 11 and a half minute stretch. Sophomore John Murdock assisted Ricucci's first two scores, while senior Tim Sandusky provided the feed for the third goal.
Ursinus responded with a pair of transition goals in the first four minutes of the third quarter, but another pair of Falcons' scores sandwiched a third Bears' tally to make it a 6-3 game at the half.
Ursinus pulled within a 6-4 count before another Messiah run made it 10-4, as Ricucci scored the final two goals of the push at the 8:28 and 3:44 marks of the third quarter. Junior Jeff Ziegler carded his second goal of the game just three and a half minutes into the second half to start the run, while freshman Phil Wendt scored his third collegiate goal just two and a half minutes later.
Ziegler responded to an Ursinus score at the 11:31 mark of the fourth quarter, but Messiah's spread offense would eventually lead to a variety of turnovers down the stretch. The Bears capitalized for three goals in the final period, turning an 11-5 game into a more aesthetically pleasing 11-8 final.
“We really slowed the tempo down late,” Weisenborn said. “They got some turnovers, but we were more concerned about eating clock than scoring goals.”
Ricucci finished with a game-high six scores on 14 shots, picking up two ground balls as well. Ziegler knocked in three of 10 shots, while Wendt and classmate J.J. Miller each scored once. Sophomore Brent Stewart was a stalwart in the middle of the field, coming up with seven ground balls while going 11 for 13 in face offs. Sandusky and sophomore Morgan Kupfer each collected five ground balls.
“I thought they maintained what they try to do throughout,” Weisenborn said of Ursinus. “I don't think they changed (because they got down early). I do think it's harder to remain patient offensively when you're down three goals, but they are a very disciplined team.”
Proving its collective patience, Ursinus was more than doubled up in total shots on the game, as Messiah fired 47 times at the frame — Ursinus just 20. Messiah won 15 of 23 total face offs while doubling up on extra man opportunities as well, scoring twice in six chances to the Bears' one in three.
“We played okay in spurts and not so well in others, and I thought once we settled down defensively we were okay,” Weisenborn said. “They probably scored half of their points in transition, and that's where we had some troubles. A lot of our issues were aggressive mistakes, though, and you can't be too upset about those as a coach, because that type of play put us where we were (with a lead).”
Messiah will return to MAC play next, as the team will host King's College on Saturday. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
