By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — There was standing room only at Anderson Field Wednesday night.
Such an overflow crowd could be expected in arguably the biggest Commonwealth Conference game of the season.
Over 240 fans squeezed along the sidelines to witness two of the nation's top teams do battle, as top-ranked Messiah came up biggest on a picturesque fall evening, defeating seventh-ranked Lebanon Valley College by a 4-1 score.
Facing its seventh ranked opponent of the season, Messiah (14-0, 5-0) kept its perfect season intact behind a strong second-half performance: The Falcons took a 1-1 tie game into halftime, but three second-half goals in just over a four-minute span propelled the hosts to their 14th consecutive victory.
“This was one of the biggest games of the season,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah head coach. “It could be a preview of the conference championship, and to come away from this with a win was very satisfying.”
Coming into the game, Trapp had said her squad would need to bring its A-game, and indeed the Falcons received strong performances up and down the lineup.
The offense was again led by senior Katie Love and junior Kourtney Ehly, who have combined to score the last eight goals for the Falcons.
Such was the case again Wednesday night, as the Love-Ehly combination struck just over 22 minutes into the action.
Love started the scoring when she positioned herself near the Dutchmen cage and took a cross from Ehly along the right side, finishing with power at the 22:16 mark.
That tally gave the Falcons – a team that has not seen a deficit since a 4-3 win over Ursinus College on Sept. 5 – a 1-0 lead.
The Dutchmen responded with a goal of their own just nine minutes later, as LVC sophomore Jocelyn Novak made a run through the Falcons' back line and scored a putaway around Messiah senior goalkeeper Ashley Mowery at the 31:01 mark to tie the game.
Lebanon Valley (13-2, 3-1), which had controlled possession early, would sit on the 1-1 tie at the half. Both teams recorded five shots in the first 35 minutes of play, while LVC attempted the first half's only penalty corner.
“We were starting to turn around the momentum at that point,” Trapp said of Novak's equalizer. “This was a really tough game and we hadn't been put in such a situation for awhile, so we just needed to get back on track.”
That “getting back on track” occurred with potency midway through the second half, as Messiah erupted for three goals in a 4:15 microburst — two by Ehly and one by Love — giving the Falcons a 4-1 lead that would prove to be the final margin of victory.
Ehly scored at the 56:17 mark off a feed from senior Elizabeth Ziegler and at 59:39 moment off a feed from freshman Emily Hursh, who proved to be a load for LVC defenders throughout the second ahlf.
Hursh was at it again less than a minute later, pushing a pass to a posting-up Love with 60:32 elapsed. Love quickly flicked the ball into the baseboard for her second goal of the night, completing what had been a neck-and-neck affair into a shocking 4-1 spread.
Ehly's two goals equated to her fourth consecutive multi-goal game. For the season, Ehly (18) holds a slim edge over Love (16) in goals scored.
“(Kourtney and Katie) have just been great,” Trapp said. “They play off each other, they play off their teammates, and they both have just blossomed this year.”
Mowery and the defense kept the Dutchmen off the board over the final 10 minutes to preserve the victory. The senior backstop finished with five saves in goal, her most since thwarting 12 attempts in Messiah's 3-2 win at Lynchburg College on Sept. 16.
“(Ashley) was phenomenal (in goal),” Trapp said. “The whole defense made key saves and key stops toward the end when (Lebanon Valley) was pressuring and trying to get something on the board. Our defense just played wonderfully.”
Messiah will play its final non-conference game next, serving as the homecoming grand finale at The College of New Jersey Saturday night. The Falcons will take on the Lions at 8 p.m. at Lions' Stadium.
“We are playing well,” said Trapp. “They are in that mode right now, and our goal is to keep improving. If you're standing still, you're really headed backwards.”
