By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
Elizabethtown, PA — Halloween always produces tricks and treats, and Saturday afternoon at Elizabethtown College's Ira R. Herr Field was no different.
The rain was the trick, but Messiah was the treat.
The Falcons pounded rival Elizabethtown with a sweet 5-0 win to wrap up both teams' regular-season schedules, as Messiah tallied its five markers courtesy of five different players. The elements made the Falcons' goal production an even more noteworthy feat, as a cold and wet wind exacerbated an already grotesque field, roughing up play in the first half.
As would be expected in such conditions, action started rough and slow. The first 20 minutes were a constant grind between the two teams as possession was slightly in favor of the Falcons — who would go on to outshoot the host Blue Jays by a 24-3 disparity. Elizabethtown (9-9, 4-3), however — with five defenders spread throughout the back — would counter the Falcons' pressure with steady possession and aggression.
But just after the 22-minute mark, magic would strike for Messiah (17-0-1, 7-0). Junior forward Erin Hench trapped a cleared ball from the back and turned toward her oncoming defender. She then turned to her right side after hearing the screams of classmate Joanna Haqq. The forward made a timely run and Hench found her with a pass from just past midfield. With a defender pressing, Haqq continued to press down the right side and her subsequent shot was deflected off E'Town junior goalie Kristen Kelly and back to Haqq's feet near the end line. Haqq touched the ball through the sliding defender's legs and blasted home a short-range goal at the 22:02 clip, her sixth of the year.
The next 20 minutes were a battle in the midfield, as there were no shots or corners for either team.
But before the half, Messiah would get an insurance goal — this one coming off a penalty kick from sophomore Rachel Loya.
The play developed after freshman Tannia Nieto dribbled for 30 yards, weaving through a corn maze of E'Town defenders. Nieto stopped her run just before the end line and crossed the ball back into the box toward classmate Corrine Wulf. Wulf's initial shot was deflected off a defender's hand and the center official pointed to the penalty marker.
The strong-legged Loya was elected to take the kick and was rewarded with her second goal of the year at the 42:06 mark.
Despite worsening rain and winds in the second half of play, Messiah would show that neither were an issue. As the Blue Jays seemed to lose a step in the slop, the Falcons would apply their now vintage style of possession and attack as three goals, 18 shots and five corners were posted during the final 45 minutes.
“Throughout the first half, the field was hard to play on,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “(The field) caused us to play out of ourselves. Our backs didn't put our midfielders into the right spots, our forwards couldn't find space and we couldn't have the interplay between players that we normally have.”
Frey said that there was a big difference with his team in the second half.
“I told them we needed to be more aggressive, more direct; to get further up the field, to attack the flanks more,” he said. “The goal by Jo really allowed for us to do that. It opened up things for us and set us up to do what we love to do. Attack.”
After an early save from sophomore keeper Autumn Reilly, Messiah set the game-ending tempo, as the following 10 minutes were a clinic in offensive mastery capped off by a sweet treat. Senior Amy Horst curled in a beautiful corner kick to find classmate Amanda Naeher in the 60th minute, and with strength and ease, Naeher jumped off the ground, seemingly untouched, and slammed the ball with her head to the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.
Keeping the pressure on, Messiah would tally another goal at the 73:43 mark after controlling possession from the back and using precision passing between midfielders and forwards. Coming from the back on the right side, junior Katie Hoffsmith slotted a pass into the box to Hench. Hench rotated slightly to her right and pounded a perfect shot with her left foot that fooled the keeper, finding a home just inside the back post for her 12th goal of the year.
In the closing minutes of the game, sophomore Olivia Scott would etch her name in the scorebook, drying off the soaked net, if only for a moment. Off the last of nine corner kicks, Scott lined herself up with the ball after it had been deflected off a defender and left loose in a scrum. Her ensuing 19-yard blast finished low and just away from the keeper's reach, notching Scott her fourth goal of the season.
“Everyone as a whole played much better in the second half,” Frey said. “(The backs) played good balls. Everything starts from them. When they do things well, everything goes well from there. They made better choices with the ball which created space for our midfielders and forwards to work.”
With the win, Messiah clinched the Commonwealth Conference regular season title with an unbeaten mark, scoring 40 goals while conceding only one goal to their opponents.
“I think we have played well since the beginning of the year, but I really like the way we look right now,” Frey said. “Everyone has a good understanding of we what we want to do and what other players like to do. Everyone is playing at top form together while continuing to develop and get better together, putting ourselves in a good position to make a good run.”
Messiah — ranked atop the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 and the D3soccer.com Top 25 polls — will start the Commonwealth Conference Tournament Tuesday night at Shoemaker Field. The Falcons' opponent: Albright College, who they defeated 5-0 Oct. 3 in Reading, Pa.
Game time is set for 7 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.
