Box Score
Grantham, PA — Messiah's fourth straight win was somewhat tempered Thursday afternoon at Anderson Field, as the Falcons learned they would be without junior attack Emily Van Hook for the remainder of the season.
Van Hook — who stood as the team's second-leading goal producer before Thursday's match up with visiting Susquehanna University — suffered a lower leg injury in Wednesday's practice, learning she had broken her fibula following x-rays.
Van Hook arrived to the sideline during Messiah's eventual 16-5 win over Susquehanna, only the Crusaders' second loss of the season.
“It was hard not having Emily out there leading the attack, but she is invaluable to the team whether she is on the sidelines or on the field,” said Heather Greer, Messiah head coach. “Of course we want her healthy and back on the field scoring goals, but our girls understand that we've all got to step our game up in her absence.”
Messiah (6-3) effectively did that Thursday against Susquehanna (6-2), winning 15 of the game's 23 draw controls while causing 14 of the Crusaders' 23 turnovers.
Those numbers equated to a dominant possession game for the hosts, as Greer's club rolled to a 10-1 lead before settling on a 10-2 advantage at halftime. Sophomore Nikki Lawrence scored three of Messiah's first 10 goals while classmate Megan Bovenzi and freshman Rachel Dirksen each tallied two. Senior Brianne Brennan came up with half of Messiah's 10 first-period draw controls, putting Susquehanna behind both on the scoreboard and in time of possession.
“After our game against Alvernia we knew we needed to improve in maintaining possession, and that starts with the draw,” Greer said. “ Bri Brennan came up big today by having five draw controls in the first half. She has been so key for us with the draw this season. She does not have significant ups, but she times her jump better than anyone else which gives her a significant reach over some girls that are four or five inches taller than her.”
Susquehanna would break through the Messiah defense to start the second half, but three more Falcons' goals over a three-minute stretch effectively closed the door on things. Another score from Lawrence was followed by a free position goal from freshman Megan Doolittle, while sophomore Keri Nickles took a feed from freshman Rachel Dicksen for the team's 13th goal of the night with 19:48 to play.
Nickles would tack on two more scores inside the game's final 14 minutes, while Bovenzi finished her third goal of the day with just 41 seconds on the clock.
Lawrence again paced Messiah's offense, complementing her five-goal output against Alvernia with four more scores Thursday night. Bovenzi and Nickles followed with three goals apiece, while Dirksen scored twice while handing out a game-high four assists.
As a team, Messiah finished with a season-high eight assists, limiting Susquehanna to just 18 total shots — the second-fewest attempts on the year. Senior goalie Jen Venter finished with eight saves, including five in the first half for a 72 percent save percentage.
“We were excited that Susquehanna played a zone defense because we have not played against a zone yet this season and I think we broke it fairly well,” Greer said. ”We moved the ball better than we have done all season and every attacker was so unselfish with the ball that we had a season high of eight of our 12 goals in a settled attack were assisted goals. Jen had a huge first half in goal. She looked so crisp today and got off such quick clears which allowed us to push the ball for several fast break opportunities.”
Messiah will return to the practice field for only a day before playing its third game of the week Saturday, returning to MAC play in hosting Manhattanville College. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Anderson Field.
