By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
Grantham, PA — The Messiah women's soccer team put on a shooting clinic for some 300 lucky fans who braved the autumn cold Wednesday night at Shoemaker Field, notching a season-high 41 shots in a 6-1 win over Commonwealth Conference rival Lebanon Valley College.
Coming off their lowest shooting performance of the season in a
3-0 win at Widener University Saturday, the Falcons made the most of a return home following three straight road games, scoring three times in the first 12 minutes of play to run away with their seventh straight victory.
Lebanon Valley (6-7-1, 1-2), won the initial coin toss and placed all six attackers on the center line, showing that the Dutchmen would apply their own pressure.
It didn't take long for the ladies in home whites to show how difficult it is to play against them, however.
Almost taking possession away from the opening moments, Messiah (13-0-1, 2-0) would control possession for the majority of the first half. Once possession was gained, the Falcons' attacking six would take control of the game.
Junior forward
Erin Hench again proved effective up top. Two and a half minutes into the game, Hench, receiving the ball at midfield, turned and played senior
Amanda Naeher a ball that would lead to her first of three goals on the night. Naeher, determined to score, ran towards goal with a defender at her hip. The defender pushed Naeher off her line, seemingly losing possession, but Naeher lowered her head and ran after the ball, shooting a low shot into the back of the net at the 2:57 mark.
Two and a half minutes later, senior
Amy Horst found the ball at her feet. The speedy winger ran down the left side of the field and played Hench the ball. Hench then dribbled and saw classmate Joanna Haqq streaking from the far side of the field. With defenders caving in, the ensuing pass found Haqq's feet, and the junior swiftly blasted a high shot which deflected off the keepers hands and into the net.
Haqq's feet did a lot more than just shoot tonight. They danced with the ball, seemingly at a pace that defenders couldn't keep up with. Messiah head coach
Scott Frey noticed.
“Joanna was fun to watch,” said Frey. “She broke girls down which everyone loves to see.”
Haqq's play on the wing also reinforced the possession game the Falcons look to play. Time and time again, Frey's club would string along passes, connect runs with perfectly timed balls to the right people, and get a chance to score goals.
With steady control over possession, the Falcons would press on. Just before the 12 minute mark, Hench and Naeher would meet up for a classic connection between the two. Naeher, having possession outside the box, gave a quick touch to Hench and set off for a give and go. Hench returned with an easy touch on the ball and Naeher slotted her second goal to the right post with just 11:59 elapsed.
Despite Messiah's seemingly endless possession control, LVC continued pressuring the Falcon defense, with or without the ball. The Ducthmen pressure was led by freshman forward Nicole Snyder. With size and speed, Snyder kept applying pressure until she saw her chance to act.
At the 14 minute mark, junior
Molly Bletz made a rare mistake. In an attempt to play back to another defender, Bletz's pass was intercepted by a darting Snyder, who cut back to the middle and made her sight the goal. Her shot just went wide of sophomore
Autumn Reilly and into the net, trimming the Messiah lead to just 2-1 at the 14:17 mark.
The Dutchmen's goal was just the fifth allowed by the Messiah defense this year.
“Molly makes so many great plays that when she does have one bad pass, we can shake it off because we know she does so many good things for us on the field,” Frey said.
It also doesn't hurt when more goals are scored.
For her third goal in 23 minutes, Naeher would add a little finesse to the ball. Receiving the ball off a low and accurate pass from Horst, Naeher turnred her hips and sights to the keeper. From the left side of the net, she curled her shot just past the out stretched arms of Dutchmen goalie Sami Young, and scored for the seventh hat trick of her career.
Just before the 35-minute mark, freshman
Corinne Wulf would tally her fifth goal of the year. After receiving a beautiful ball from sophomore
Leah Sipe, Wulf finished to the right post. It was a simple goal, but Frey credits the goal to the build-up and development of the entire team.
“(The goal) was all from one and two touch passing, turning away from defenders, splitting to the open player, and being patient. Our speed of play helped us so much tonight.”
Messiah's 41 total shots were split 17-24 between the halves and, despite outshooting LVC by a 24-2 count in the latter 45 minutes, were held scoreless until the 70:23 mark.
It was then that sophomore
Rachel Loya added her name to the goal list, finishing off the evening's scoring via an assist from Sipe. After receiving the ball from Loya, Sipe simply dished out gold as her one touch pass found the feet of Loya, where she finished strong to the right post for her first goal of the year.
Although the stat book seemed to be one-sided, the Falcons' defense did feel LVC's presence all night.
“(LVC) played with great pressure,” said Frey. “They played at us. They ran with us. They came to play. Our back row was under pressure all night, coming from up front. This just shows that we need to keep getting better and we will keep getting better.”
In the final minutes of the game, LVC sophomore Courtney Catania applied the last true look for the visitors, as she blasted a shot directly on goal, but junior backup keeper
Shalisa Brubaker was there, diving to her right, to make the save.
Messiah — ranked atop both the NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 and the
D3Soccer.com Top 25 for the week — has now outscored its opponents 53-5 on the season.
The Falcons head back to action as the afternoon centerpiece for Messiah's Centennial Homecoming Celebration this Saturday. The Falcons host conference foe Arcadia University at 3 p.m. atop Shoemaker Field.
