Williamsport, PA — Just 17 minutes into Tuesday's Commonwealth Conference match-up at Lycoming College, things were — for all intents and purposes — over.
Messiah had captured a 4-0 lead over the host Warriors, while senior Amanda Naeher's two goals had moved her ahead of 2007 grad Steph Rowe as the program's all-time leading scorer.
Little changed after all 90 minutes of play were complete, as Messiah (14-0-1, 4-0) handed Lycoming (7-9-2, 1-4) an 8-0 loss at the Robert L. Shangraw Athletic Complex, the Falcons' eighth straight win and 10th shutout performance of the season.
“The good news for us was that we came out, played well and took care of things early,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “To get on the board quickly, that's always a good way to start.”
Naeher began the day's onslaught, taking a pass from junior Erin Hench at the 7:42 point and scoring her 62nd career goal — moving ahead of Rowe's 61 total scores in the process. Hench won a tackle on the right side of the field and slipped the ball across to Naeher, who then switched it before ripping a left-footed blast from 14 yards out.
Junior Joanna Haqq then increased Messiah's lead with a pair of goals at the 11:37 and 16:31 marks, first taking an assist from Naeher and then finishing a cross from freshman Corinne Wulf to score her fourth and fifth goals of the season.
Haqq's second tally provided a brief moment of confusion on the field, as Wulf got in on the right end line and served a nifty ball into the box, where both Haqq and Naeher seemed to simultaneously make contact with the ball.
The goal was awarded to Haqq, though Frey seemed unconcerned with the possibility of Naeher's 63rd career goal being taken off the board.
“She scores enough,” he joked.
Just 46 seconds later, there would be no perplexity.
Hench again won a ball on the right side of the field, and while holding off a defender on her back, flicked a pass back toward Naeher.
Naehr came onto the ball and crushed an 18-yard blast on her first touch, beating Lycoming sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Powers with brute force.
Naeher's 63rd career goal would come with zero uncertainty.
“I think one, Amanda is such a presence around the goal and two, she has such a great supporting cast around her,” Frey said. “Teams can't just focus on taking Amanda away, because we've got so many other people that can finish. To (set our career scoring record) in two and a half years, though (Naeher did not play as a freshman) … that's pretty impressive.”
With Naeher's name etched firmly in the record books, Messiah's play continued to surge. Sophomore Jessica Shirk made it a 5-0 lead at the halftime break, taking a cross from freshman Stephanie Andrews and beating Powers to the near post with 40:40 elapsed.
And though Lycoming would limit Messiah to just 19 total shots on the night — the Falcons entered the game averaging 24.5 shots per — things would not get any better for the hosts. A score from Wulf just under eight minutes into the second half and another from Andrews just 19 seconds later made it a 7-0 affair, as the Falcons were rolling.
Sophomore Rachel Loya finished off the scoring for Messiah in the 66th minute of action, heading in a one-hopper off a corner kick from freshman Elizabeth Phillips — one of the Falcons' seven corners on the afternoon.
“We struggled a little bit early on because Lycoming played a very high back line and a very compact midfield,” Frey said. “There wasn't much space to play through them. It took us awhile to figure out how to play over the top. They gave us some problems.”
In addition to scoring her 62nd and 63rd career goals in the win, Naeher tacked on her team-leading 17th and 18th of the season. Hench, meanwhile, dished out her team-leading ninth and 10th assists of the year. Eight of Hench's 10 dimes have gone to Naeher on the season.
“Erin continues to play well for us,” Frey said. “We're the beneficiary of what she does, as she makes a lot of things happen up front.”
Messiah will return to conference play Saturday, as the team will host newly-joined Commonwealth member Alvernia University at Shoemaker Field. Game time is set for 12 p.m.
