Gettysburg, PA — At times, the game of soccer can be maddening.
Consider the frustration of Messiah — the top-ranked women's soccer team in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — Wednesday night at nearby Gettysburg College.
After pounding 27 shots to the Bullets' three and attempting 11 corners to the hosts' two, all Messiah could do was walk away from Clark Field with a scoreless, double-overtime tie. It was the second such result for Messiah (7-0-2) on the season, as the Falcons could not put a valued number on the board in a 0-0 tie to then 15th-ranked Johns Hoopkins University Sept. 10.
“I couldn't have asked for any more out of our players tonight,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “They played very hard and very well. Gettysburg got the result that they worked for.”
It was clear from the start that Gettysburg (2-1-3) was concerned primarily with defending its third of the field, playing five defenders in the box while looking sporadically at best for offensive opportunities. Messiah opened the game by pounding four shots on the Bullets' frame in the first 12 minutes, with Gettysburg keeper Danielle St. Pierre thwarting three of those efforts.
Things did not change much throughout the entire 110 minutes of soccer, as the Falcons carried a 10-0 shot disparity and 6-0 corner kick count with them into the intermission. Gettysburg rattled off its two corner kicks within a 30-second span early in the second half of play, accounting for the entirety of its free serve opportunities and two thirds of its shot totals on the evening.
Messiah's chances to break the scoreless deadlock were numerous, with perhaps none better than a corner kick opportunity just 30 seconds into the first overtime. Senior Rachel Horning sent a beautiful ball into the Gettysburg box, and junior Amanda Naeher was there to send a violent header toward the corner of the Bullets' cage.
It caromed hard off the post, however, keeping the game — and Gettysburg's hopes for a scoreless draw — alive.
Naeher led the Falcons' offensive onslaught with seven shots on the evening, one of three Messiah players to record more shots than the entire Gettysburg roster combined. Senior Kacie Klynstra posted five attempts while sophomore Erin Hench tallied four. Horning equaled the Bullets' composite attack with three shots.
“We tried everything we could tonight,” Frey said. “We made tactical adjustments, we tried moving some people around in the lineup. It wasn't an effort thing tonight, that is for sure.”
Messiah will not have to sit long on the no-decision, as the team will remain on the road in traveling to Washington & Lee University Saturday. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
