Grantham, PA — According to its head coach, the Messiah College women's soccer team played its best game of the year Saturday afternoon, handing visiting Ohio Wesleyan University a 7-1 loss at Shoemaker Field.
The praise was lofty for the Falcons — ranked third in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — as Messiah (7-0-1) allowed just its fourth goal of the season coming in own-goal fashion midway through the second half.
That was only a small blip on the radar, however, as the Falcons grabbed a 4-0 lead less than a half hour into play while never looking back.
“I thought this was maybe our best effort yet this season,” said Messiah head coach Scott Frey. “We've worked really hard lately and talked a lot about our preparation for games. (We talked) about our decisions, our discipline and playing the game we want to play, while not being as concerned about what our opponent wants to do to us. I thought we gave a great effort today. We made good decisions with the ball, we were creative with the ball and we defended hard. All around, it was a great effort.”
Meeting Ohio Wesleyan (4-3-1) for the second time since a 1-0 loss in the 2002 NCAA National Championship game, Frey's team appeared sharp after an early burst from the Bishops. Ohio Wesleyan had perhaps its best look at the Falcons' cage just minutes into the action, forcing senior keeper Brindley Beckwith to make a diving save.
That seemed to jolt Messiah into high gear, however, as the Falcons began a methodical attack that would seemingly last for the entirety of things. Junior Amanda Naeher would notch the first score just 12:33 in, taking a pair of drop passes from classmate Katlyn Musser and sophomore Erin Hench to get an easy look at the Bishops' cage. Musser got around the right wing and slipped a beauty of a drop back to Hench, who then passed up on a shot opportunity to give Naeher a better one.
“Muss did a really good job to create space on a move in the flank,” Frey said. “She really deserves the credit for that (first score).”
Perhaps affected by Hench's generosity, it was Naeher that would become the game's best distributor, carding a career-high three assists on Messiah's next three goals. Freshman Leah Sipe placed a through ball to Naeher just five minutes after the Falcons' initial score, a ball that was eventually slipped to sophomore Joanna Haqq at the game's 17:25 mark.
With 23:43 elapsed it was Naeher dropping the proverbial dime once more, this time getting deep into OWU's box while sliding a ball just past Bishop keeper Laura VanHoey, allowing senior Rachel Horning a wide-open tap-in from just off the endline.
When junior Amy Horst rifled in a frozen rope from 22 yards out at the 27:10 mark — off another Naeher pass — Messiah led 4-0.
“Amanda had a great day today,” Frey said of her five-point production. “She made great decisions with the ball and put people in dangerous positions all day.”
Another brief Ohio Wesleyan push occurred at the outset of the second period, with Frey's club actually capitalizing off that event as well. Haqq notched her second score just two and a half minutes in, courtesy of a counter attack following one of OWU's two corner kicks: Operating on the right side of the OWU box in transition, Horning crossed a low ball that hit Haqq cutting through, leading to the crafty forward's sixth goal of the season.
Hench was rewarded for her consistent effort up top just 10 minutes later, scoring her seventh goal of the year at the 57:30 mark.
The Falcons' only misstep occurred 10 minutes after that, as Musser played a ball to Beckwith that appeared to be simple miscommunication, with no pressure coming from the OWU front line. Musser attempted to drop a pass back to her senior keeper's outside foot at the 67:33 clip, but the pass came off a bit firmer than expected, rolling into Messiah's cage for the team's first own goal of the year.
It was a mistake of moot proportions, however, as freshman Lisa Wingard's score just a minute later helped alleviate the slightly-dampened mood almost instantly. Taking a pass from Horst, Wingard finished brilliantly to provide the final 7-1 difference.
“I thought that we responded well after our own goal,” Frey said. “You don't want to end a game like this on a note like that, so it was good to get one more.”
Messiah out shot the Bishops by a 30-5 difference while attempting 10 corner kicks to OWU's two. Messiah defeated Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio last season by a 5-0 score. That was the teams' first meeting since OWU's 1-0 win over Messiah in the '02 national championship — the Falcons' first ever trip to the Final Four.
“I was really pleased with a lot of things today,” Frey continued. “Even though it doesn't look like much on the stat sheet, Brindley really did some good things for us in goal today. I thought she communicated well and, as a result, our entire back row was very good.”
The win was Messiah's third in a row and seventh at home, as the team will now begin a three-game road swing, encompassing the next two weeks.
“I think it (the road swing) is something we do need,” Frey said. “We've been comfortable at home, and now we've got some good ones coming up away from here. It's a big swing, and it will be good for us. This was a good start into it, though.”
Messiah will travel to nearby Gettysburg College next, facing the Bullets Wednesday evening. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
