By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Glenside, PA — A playing field that was submerged in water didn't seem to have any ill-effects for top-ranked Messiah Thursday afternoon, as the Falcons took care of business in a big way in a 7-0 win over host Arcadia University — closing out the regular-season with a perfect 17-0 record.
“Any time you run the table like we did this season, it gives you a lot of momentum heading into the playoffs,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah's head field hockey coach. “We're excited with where we're at, but we're also anxious to continue improving.”
Leading the charge for the Falcons at a swampy Blankley Filed was junior midfielder Julie Barton, whose two goals and two assists accounted for over half of Messiah's scoring offense. Meanwhile, senior midfielder Liz Ziegler accounted for four points (one goal, two assists) of her own.
Five different players scored for the Falcons and nearly every member of the team was able to see significant playing time for the second straight game, as Messiah (17-0, 7-0) romped over Shenandoah University by a 13-0 score Tuesday afternoon.
“It was a mud field today,” Trapp said, “but it didn't seem to bother the girls. They played well and had a really good time, and we were able to get everyone in.”
Junior Amber Philpot started the scoring for Messiah, as she scored off a pass from senior Emily Sauder just 4:35 into the game. The Falcons — who have taken the lead first in all but two of their games this season — battered the Knights for the majority of the first half, controlling the possession, while putting constant pressure on Knights' senior goalie Brittany Rasmussen.
Messiah put up 22 shots and 13 penalty corners in the first half, while holding Arcadia (4-12, 0-7) without either. In fact, the Knights were not able to register a shot or penalty corner all day on an elite Falcons' defense.
“This was a total team effort,” Trapp said. “I was proud of my girls.”
The scoring continued in the first half, as senior forward Katie Love scored unassisted at the 21:15 mark, her 19th goal of the season. Barton scored her first of the day four minutes later, off a pass from Ziegler, and Ziegler scored a goal of her own at 27:00 to give the Falcons a 4-0 halftime lead.
The Falcons didn't let up after drying off at intermission.
Led by Barton — an All-American last year as a sophomore — the Falcons scored three more goals in the second period: Barton scored at 41:40 and was credited with a pair of assists on goals by freshman Emily Hursh at 45:46 and junior Amber Philpot at 46:57, Barton's first three-assist game of the season.
Neither squad pushed across a goal for the remainder of the game, but the Falcons continued to dominate field possession, outshooting the Knights 9-0 in the second half, while putting up five penalty corners to the Knights' none.
“The three mids played really well today,” Trapp said. “They kept the ball away from the defense, controlled the ball, and were real workhorses.”
Also putting in a strong performance were the Messiah second teamers, who did an excellent job of keeping the Knights off the board in the second half. Twenty-three players saw significant action for Trapp's club.
“It gives us a strong look at all the bench players, and I have confidence in them as a team,” Trapp said.
Senior keeper Ashley Mowery played a shutout first half in goal before giving way to freshman Angie Klaczak, who didn't face a shot in her 35 minutes of action.
Messiah now heads into the Commonwealth Conference Tournament as the league's top seed, and will host Widener University — a team it defeated by a 4-1 count Oct. 17 — Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field.
Game time is set for 4 p.m. Admission for all Commonwealth Conference post-season games is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. Children under the age of six are admitted free of charge.
“We just have to stay focused, take it one game at a time, and not look ahead,” Trapp said.
