By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — It was déjà vu times two for Messiah Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field, as the Falcons opened up Commonwealth Conference Tournament play with a decisive 8-0 win over fourth-seeded Widener University, pushing the top-seeded Falcons into Saturday's league championship game against second seed Lebanon Valley College.
It was Messiah's second win over Widener this season and the team's second win over Widener in the Commonwealth Semi-Finals in as many years, as the Falcons concluded the Pride's season last year in a 7-0 thumping.
On Oct. 17 of this season, the Falcons dispatched the Pride by a 4-1 score. Wednesday's match wasn't as close.
“The girls came out and just played great,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah head coach. “They were on fire and they played well against a Widener team that is pretty good in their own right.”
In front of the home crowd, Messiah (18-0) showed the extent of its ability, dominating on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, while controlling possession throughout the entire game.
Widener (11-6) opened the match with energy and enthusiasm, but even that could not keep the nation's top-ranked team off the scoreboard for long.
Senior forward Katie Love started the scoring with consecutive goals at the 12:14 and 15:24 marks, with assists going to senior Emily Sauder and junior Lauren Tennis. Senior Liz Ziegler scored a rocket following a corner at the 24:06 clip off a feed from Barton and, just like that, the Falcons possessed a 3-0 lead.
Consecutive goals by juniors Amber Philpot and Kourtney Ehly just before halftime all but put the game away, a putback from Philpot and a point-blank score from Ehly occurred in the span of just 77 seconds.
Ehly picked up right where she left off in the second half, taking a nifty flick from Love, who carried the ball nearly the entire length of the field on the left flank. Ehly put in a nifty shot from the left side at the 42:42 mark, equating to her seventh multi-goal game of the year.
Love finished off her first hat trick of the season just five minutes later, scoring a nifty cross from Sauder that somehow found its way across the width of the field to Love's stick on the left side.
Philpot topped off the offense for the day with a top-shelf goal at 65:27, capping off an 8-0 Falcons' win in which Messiah won the battle in both shots (30-6) and penalty corners (20-4).
“Any time that your offense keeps the ball on the offensive side, it takes pressure off the defense,” Trapp said. “The midfielders had to work really hard to keep the ball with the offense, and they just did a great job. We won midfield, and when you win midfield, you're often going to win the game.”
Senior goalkeeper Ashley Mowery recorded a shutout in goal, registering two saves for a Falcons team that received strong contributions from each member of its defense.
“(Ashley) had two really good saves,” Trapp said, “and the defense had a great save off a corner that probably would have scored (in the second half).”
Comparing Messiah's aforementioned 4-1 win over Widener two and a half weeks back, Trapp thought her team looked “a little sharper this time, especially with our passing. (The girls) started doing all the little things we've been working on.”
Messiah — ranked atop the latest NFHCA/Kookaburra Top 20 Poll — will now host seventh-ranked Lebanon Valley College (17-2) for the Commonwealth Championship, as the Dutchmen cruised past Elizabethtown College by a 5-1 score in Wednesday's other semi-final.
Saturday will provide a rematch of the teams' Oct. 21 date, a game the Falcons claimed by a 4-1 score.
“It's going to be another battle (with LVC),” Trapp said. “LVC is a very fine team with some dangerous scorers, and we have to step up to the scorers like we did last time and deny them opportunities. Last time the defense did a great job, and we just have to come out, start strong, play hard for the full game, and most of all, everyone just needs to be on their game and stay focused.”
Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Anderson Field. 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.
