Lynchburg, VA — A five-hour trip southward resulted in Messiah's stiffest test of the season Saturday, as host and 13th-ranked Lynchburg College battled the top-ranked Falcons to a 1-1, double-overtime draw on a warm, sunny afternoon at Shellenberger Field.
Messiah (6-0) was able to get on the board in the 37th minute, but Lynchburg (3-1-2) had an answer just 20 minutes later, eventually pushing a total 14 shots toward the Falcons' cage — a single-game high allowed by Messiah this season.
Lynchburg actually put more shots on goal than the Falcons (8-7) for the day, while Messiah head coach Scott Frey called Lynchburg “definitely the best team we've played this year.”
“They're a handful,” he said. “They're athletic across the field, they're technical across the field. They had a lot of energy and had an idea of what they wanted to do to us. They were hard to handle.”
The Hornets proved their worth right from the opening tap, recording three shots in the game's opening 10 minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Autumn Reilly came up with the first of her seven saves on Lynchburg's second attempt, and eventually possession began to balance out.
Messiah would score its only goal of the afternoon following its only first-half corner kick, as junior Katie Hoffsmith sent a gorgeous ball into the Hornets' box at the 37:30 mark. The ball was batted around, and eventually wound up at the feet of sophomore Jessica Shirk. Shirk blasted the ball to the far post from about six yards out with 37:39 elapsed, her first goal of the season.
Despite holding an 8-7 advantage in total shots and a 2-1 lead in corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of play, Lynchburg found itself down 1-0 at the break.
“It was a 'fight you' game today,” Frey said. “There wasn't a lot of 'pretty' going on. Nothing was easy for either team the entire day. Everything was contested all over the field.”
Lynchburg fought its way to a 1-1 tie off a free kick just eight minutes into the second half, as the Hornets' Jessica Gonzalez sent a high ball toward Messiah's box from the centerfield marker. Both Messiah defenders and Lynchburg attackers failed to get a head on the ball, and it bounded toward the Falcons' frame.
The Hornets' Shelly Hoath then raced in behind the Messiah defense, beating everyone to the free ball and placing a firm shot past Reilly — her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
If Messiah wanted to keep its perfect record in tact, it would need another score.
Despite a pair of high percentage chances in the final moments, Lynchburg kept that from happening.
Senior Amanda Naeher sent chills through the crowd just 13 seconds into the first overtime, ripping a shot that required Lynchburg junior keeper Anna Wright to make a diving save to her right. Junior Erin Hench then provided another near miss for the Falcons' cause, pushing the ball past the Hornets' defense and banging a laser off the post — again drawing gasps from the announced crowd of 564.
When the final horn sounded, however, the scoreboard remained the same. Messiah had suffered its first tie result since a 0-0 draw at Gettysburg College Sept. 24 of last year.
“Were we disappointed? Sure,” Frey said. “I thought we had a few chances that we could've done something with, but they did as well. It was one of those games where both teams walked off the field feeling like, 'that's a game we should have won.'”
Regardless of the result, Messiah was tested significantly, as the team entered Saturday's match-up allowing just 18 total shots in its first five games — a stark contrast to Lynchburg's 14 rips on Saturday alone.
“This entire trip is a growing up experience for us,” Frey said. “We expected a good test, and that's why we scheduled this game. I think we found out a little bit about ourselves, about playing under pressure … those are the types of things that are important to the growth of our team.”
Messiah will be looking to avenge last year's tie to Gettysburg next, as the Falcons host the Bullets to Shoemaker Field Wednesday night. Game time is 7 p.m.
