By Travis Galaska, GoMessiah.com reporter
York, PA — It has been a while since a group of senior Messiah men's soccer players has not gotten a win when given four chances against a perennial opponent.
Wednesday afternoon at Graham Field, the York College squad — and some extreme gusting winds — made sure this year's seniors didn't pull any fast ones in their last regular-season opportunity, tallying two goals in a five-minute span and holding on through the end for a 2-0 win over the Falcons.
Messiah, which entered the match ranked atop both the NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll as well as the D3soccer.com poll, fought their hardest against gale and a sturdy York defense, but it was to no avail, as the #21/#7 Spartans closed out every Falcon threat to clinch their seventh shutout on the season.
“The weather was … well, it was a bit challenging,” described Messiah head coach Brad McCarty.
So, it would turn out, was the Spartans' attack.
The home team nearly got on the board right off the bat, just four minutes into the game. After gaining opening possession, the Spartans carried the ball down into the attacking third, where they were fouled along the right side. The ensuing cross sailed into the box and was headed straight back into the goal.
The Spartans' early celebration was immediately subdued, however, as the as the York attacker had been deemed offside, nullifying the effort.
With the wind in the Falcons' faces for the entirety of the first half, it soon became apparent that it would be much more difficult for the Falcons to connect on any attacks early.
In the 15th minute, however, Messiah (9-1) nearly made that golden connection that would've sent them to an early lead.
Working hard in the York end of the field, the Falcon offense came up with the ball on the feet of senior Jevon Gondwe. Gondwe worked his way down the right side of the field, where he sent a low pass to sophomore winger Derek Black. Black took a few more dribbles, solidified his possession, and sent a cross directly into the center of the penalty box. The ball was caught up in the wind and made it just over the head of a Spartan defender onto the ground in front of junior Geoff Pezon. Pezon's split second volley of the shot went begging just over the top of the crossbar, however, and the game remained knotted at nil.
Just three minutes later, the Falcons would get another decent look on goal. This time, sophomore Danny Thompson sent a cross from the right side, but the ball went all the way through the box and toward the end line. Just before it went out of bounds, junior Nick Thompson caught up with it and drew it back. Taking a couple quick dribbles back toward the goal, Thompson ripped a shot from the short angle, but the ball just barely cleared the crossbar again, keeping the scoreboard at 0-0.
It would not stay that way for long, however.
Twenty-two minutes into the first half, the Spartans carried the ball down the left side of the field into their offensive third. After some neat give-and-go passing by two York attackers, the ball wound up wiggling into the box and bouncing around, finally landing on the feet of a York player, who lined up to take a blast from 15 yards, but the shot was blocked bravely at point-blank range by senior defender Josh Mull. The ball was cleared back out towards center, but ended up right on the feet of senior York midfielder Aaron Good, on the right side just inside of midfield. Good controlled and sent a curling cross with the wind right into the Messiah penalty box. The wind carried the ball further into the box and over the head of the Falcon defense, where junior Mike O'Connell flicked a header just past the rush of Falcon keeper Jared Clugston and into the back of the net for a 1-0 York College lead.
“We played very well all night from 18 to 18,” McCarty said. “We just didn't close down inside of either 18 tonight.”
It wasn't long before the Spartans added on to their early lead.
Just four minutes later, the Spartans again carried the ball along the left side of the field deep into the Messiah zone. This time, the York attacker was fouled, right on line with the 18 on the left side of the attacking zone. Senior Jon Ports lined up to take the free kick, with the rest of the York attackers lined up inside the Falcon penalty box. Ports sent a deep cross into the box, where it was met on the opposite side of the goal by sophomore Andy Stromberg. Stromberg sent a header on goal from 10 yards out, where it squeaked just between the near post and the dive of Clugston for the 2-0 Spartan lead.
“York has been a difficult match recently,” said McCarty. “Kudos to them, they're a good team, they pressured.”
McCarty's club wasn't just going to roll over though. In fact, the Falcons nearly notched goals on more than one occasion, well into the second half.
With six minutes remaining in the first half, the Falcons were awarded a corner kick, one of their four on the afternoon. The Falcons sent the ball in across the goal from the right side, where it was headed to the ground and bounced around right near the penalty spot. Sophomore Sam Woodworth was finally able to get a head on the ball, and sent a beautiful shot toward the right half of the goal and past Spartans' freshman keeper Jesse Derksen. Unfortunately for the Falcons, York (9-1-2) had senior defender Scott Becker waiting on the goal line, and Becker cleared the ball out of danger just before it crossed the line.
Right from the beginning of the second half, the Falcons would continue to pepper the Spartans. Three minutes into the half, Messiah earned another corner kick after good offensive possession. On the ensuing kick, sophomore Kent Ramirez sent a lovely cross right into the box, where Pezon met it with his head and banged it into the net on the near side, seemingly halving the Spartan lead. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Derksen had somehow ended up on the ground in the midst of the whole process, and the referee waived off the goal and awarded the Spartans a free kick in the box, citing the Falcons for a “push” on the goal attempt.
Despite that setback, Messiah seemed undeterred and continued trying to cut into the York lead. In the 51st minute, Nick Thompson got an open look from the top of the penalty box, where he managed to squeeze a low shot through the Spartan defense and onto goal. Derksen was right there to scoop it up, however, making one of his three saves on the night.
“We came out strong in that second half,” described McCarty. “We were all over them in that first 20 minutes.”
Just six minutes following Thompson's rip, the Falcons had what would turn out to be their best chance of the rest of the game. Ramirez, who was a constant thorn in the left side of the Spartan defense, carried the ball deep down toward the corner, where he was fouled. On the ensuing free kick, Ramirez, along with the blustery conditions, added a ridiculous amount of spin to the cross. The ball sailed over Derksen's head and dipped immediately down on goal. The ball remained just too high in the air however, as it clanged off the bottom side of the crossbar and caromed back out to center.
For the rest of the game, York effectively shut down every ensuing Falcon attack, limiting the Falcons to their lowest shot total of the season at eight and ending the Falcons' 22-game winning streak leading all the way back to the middle of last season.
Over the last four seasons, Messiah has posted a 0-3-1 record against the Spartans, keeping this year's senior class winless against their neighboring rivals to the south.
Wednesday's result was also the first time a Falcons' club was shut out since the 2007 Final Four, when Trinity University (Tex.) handed Messiah a 1-0 loss in the national semi-final.
Neither McCarty nor the team, however, appeared to be deterred from the ultimate goal.
“I'm very positive about my team,” said the Falcons' first-year coach. “On another night, under different circumstances, when we finish our opportunities and close out theirs on the defensive end, it's a different story.”
Messiah will not have to sit on this loss for long, however, as the team opens Commonwealth Conference play Saturday evening at Widener University. The second leg of a men's-women's double-header, game time is set for 8 p.m. at Leslie Quick Stadium.
