By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Ewing, NJ — At this point in the season, it really doesn't seem to matter whether Messiah faces a ranked opponent or not.
Despite the fact that over half of the Falcons' schedule has been comprised of ranked teams, Messiah (15-0) has kept its undefeated season in tact, taking out 12th-ranked College of New Jersey Saturday night by a 6-2 score.
It was the eighth ranked opponent to fall by the wayside this year, as the Falcons are just two games away from taking a perfect regular season into the playoffs.
“Coming off such an emotional win (against Lebanon Valley College Wednesday night), I thought we played pretty well,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah's 38-year veteran head coach. “There are a few things we need to clean up on defense, but I was very impressed with our offensive outburst and I thought we did an excellent job of peppering (Lions' goalie Shannon Syciarz).”
In a game that saw the start delayed by over half an hour due to lightning and heavy rain, the Falcons trailed just 2:07 into the game on a goal by the TCNJ's Jillian Nealon. It was the first time Messiah had trailed in a game since its 4-3 win over Ursinus College on Sept. 5.
“We didn't panic at that point,” Trapp said. “There were a few things we needed to work on and this was one of them. We weren't focused and ready to go right off, but the team stepped up. There was no panic from the girls and this showed me something about them, that they didn't let the goal bother them, and it just made them come back harder.”
Trapp's club battled back indeed, as junior scoring sensation Kourtney Ehly tallied an unassisted goal at the 8:25 mark. Just three minutes later, junior midfielder Lauren Tennis scored off a pass from classmate Julie Barton — an All-American last year as a sophomore — to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead that it would never relinquish.
At the 14:04 mark, Ehly scored her second goal of the day and the team's third in a span of 5:39, giving the Falcons a 3-1 lead. It was the 20th goal for Ehly on the season, the Falcons' leading scorer for the year.
TCNJ (7-5) didn't back down, however, as the Lions' Gabby Cafone scored unassisted at the 25:56 mark, cutting the Falcons' deficit to one, a 3-2 score that remained until halftime.
“I don't think anyone (is comfortable) with just a one-goal lead at halftime,” said Trapp. “We were really starting to dominate on the offensive end, and it was just a matter of time until we started putting goals in.”
The Falcons made sure they walked away with a win, as Messiah scored three times in the second half while limiting the Lions to just two shots — both of which went begging.
Senior forward Katie Love scored unassisted at the 39:08 mark, classmate Liz Ziegler scored off a pass from Love at the 44:21 mark and senior Jenna Max scored off a pass from Ziegler at 53:21 clip.
Coach Trapp was very pleased with her offense, a group that featured goals from five different players and registered a total 21 shots on the evening — precisely the team's average on the year.
“They have been playing together very well,” Trapp said. “All the forwards played well and we have shown other teams that they can't just focus on two of our forwards; they have to watch all four, plus the subs. In fact, I think we have six forwards that can score the goal at any given time.”
Messiah's three second-half goals pushed the team's lead to a comfortable four goal advantage, and the defense was able to hold the Lions scoreless to close out the Falcons' 15th consecutive win.
On the evening, the Falcons outshot the Lions 21-7, while also winning the penalty corners by a 10-6 margin.
Messiah has just a pair of regular-season games remaining before Commonwealth Conference playoffs begin, as the Falcons are assured the number one seed for the post-season tournament. The Falcons will host Shenandoah University to Anderson Field Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., before traveling to Arcadia University Thursday for another 4 p.m. tilt.
Commonwealth Conference post-season play is slated to begin Wednesday, Nov. 4.
“We should go in with a lot of confidence,” said Trapp. In regards to playing eight ranked opponents – and defeating them all – Trapp said, “It can do nothing but help us. I don't think it will hurt us. I think it shows what we are capable of.”
