Grantham, PA — With precisely five minutes and 22 seconds to play in the first half of Saturday night's tilt against the University of Rochester, things did not look particularly auspicious for the Messiah College women's soccer team.
The visiting Yellowjackets had just cashed in on the game's only score, and the Falcons had given up their second goal in just over 130 minutes of play on the year — all after allowing just seven goals in the entire 2007 season.
It took just two minutes and three seconds to forget all about that.
Messiah responded with scores at the 42:50 and 44:53 marks to completely change the momentum of the game, taking a 2-1 lead at the intermission and never looking back. Ranked second in the NSCAA/Adidas NCAA Division III Pre-Season Top 25, Messiah (2-0) utilized some clutch first-half offense and a tactical adjustment in the second half to run away with its second win in less than a 24-hour period, handing Rochester (0-1) a 5-1 loss.
“I thought tonight was about us learning how to respond,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “We were a bit tired early on, and we gave up a goal with six minutes left in a half, which usually is the worst time to give up a goal. I would have been happy to get one back (before the half) but to get two? That's a character check.”
A warm and muggy night set the stage for a rematch of a 2006 NCAA Sectional Semi-Final between the teams, a game Messiah won by a 2-0 score. Frey said Rochester brought some tactics learned from that defeat, however, culminating with its score at the half's 39:38 mark to take a 1-0 lead. The Yellowjackets' Ellen Coleman was able to get behind the Falcons' defense during a counter attack down the right hand side, slipping a ball to teammate Jessica Smith for a close-in score.
As an impressive crowd of 1,500 grew eerily quiet, it was clear that Frey's club would have to generate its own momentum.
“I thought Rochester came in with a plan and played very well,” Frey said. “In the first half we showed some tiredness in our lack of making good decisions. But to respond the way we did was great.”
Freshman Leah Sipe scored her first collegiate goal just 3:12 after Rochester hit first, taking a pass from junior Emily Cope and out maneuvering a Yellowjackets' defender to tie the game. It was Cope's turn just 2:03 later, carving a rocket into the near-side upper 90 in a virtual carbon copy of her magnificent score in the Falcons' 4-1 win over Eastern Mennonite Friday evening. This time using her right foot, Cope took a feed from sophomore Katie Hoffsmith and blasted the go-ahead score from well outside the 18-yard box, sending the Falcons' faithful into a furor and Rochester into a head-hanging funk.
“All things considered, I was ecstatic to be up at halftime,” Frey said. “We used the break to make an adjustment in hopes of putting more pressure on their backfield. We don't do that very often – make a tactical adjustment halfway through – but I thought we needed it.”
For all intents and purposes, it worked. Messiah slowly began to move the overall possession game from the middle third of the field into Rochester's defensive third, while two golden scoring opportunities came and went without fruition. Senior Kacie Klynstra blasted a ball off the near post just 10 minutes into the period, while a headed score from sophomore Erin Hench was waived off due to a called foul just moments later.
Hench finally broke through in the 60th minute, however, taking the ball from a Rochester defender and sliding a low liner into the corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.
Doubling up the Yellowjackets in shots for the second straight period, Messiah made the most of a golden final five minutes of play, tacking on two more scores in similar fashion to the conclusion of the first half. Hench headed in a gorgeous cross from freshman Lisa Wingard at the 85:36 mark, while Wingard was on the receiving end of an equally beautiful pass from senior Rachel Horning with 3:46 to play.
“We were much more solid throughout the second half of play,” Frey said. “I again thought our bench was really good in keeping up our intensity, and I thought that Rachel Horning was very good tonight. She brought great energy and kept us up the entire night.”
Messiah finished with an 18 to nine advantage in total shots, registering five corner kicks to Rochester's one. Senior Brindley Beckwith was credited with five saves in goal.
Messiah will continue a four-game home stand Wednesday against Wilkes University. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
