Grantham, PA — Shortly following Messiah's 2-0 win over fourth-ranked Johns Hopkins University Wednesday night at Shoemaker Field, normally low-keyed Falcons head coach Scott Frey was anything but.
Frey had just watched his team respond from a scoreless first half to hang 23 second-half shots on the visiting Blue Jays — en route to a 31-2 advantage on the night — avenging a 0-0, double-overtime tie last year at JHU while keeping the squad's pristine record in tact this season.
Now was not the time for mild-mannered comments.
“I thought that this was one of the best efforts I've seen a Messiah team put together, ever,” said Frey, with two national championships and six Final Four appearances to his credit. “We were that solid. Johns Hopkins is a good team. They're a very good team. They showed in the first half that they can do some things, and we certainly had our work cut out for us.
“We played really, really well tonight.”
It was clear that such an effort would be needed for Messiah (4-0), as Johns Hopkins entered Wednesday's tilt on a serious surge: The Blue Jays opened their season with 1-0 wins over then eighth-ranked Washington University and currently seventh-ranked Lynchburg College, decisions that helped JHU to its highest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 ranking in the 18-year history of the program.
Hopkins' ability was not in doubt early in the contest, as the Blue Jays remained poised and collected throughout the game's first 45 minutes. That mentality did not change even when starting senior goalkeeper Karen Guskowski took a foot to the head early in the half, forcing sophomore backstop Kristen Redsun into the cage for the remainder of the first period.
With Johns Hopkins holding a fair share of first-half possession, Messiah could only register an 8-1 difference in total shots, equaling the Blue Jays with two corner kick chances.
JHU may have actually had the first half's best chance to score, when a headed attempt from sophomore Leslie O'Brien went just wide of the far post following the Blue Jays second corner kick with 16:40 before halftime.
“I feel (Johns Hopkins) had an idea of how they wanted to defend us, and they had a clear plan, so we had to make some adjustments at halftime,” Frey said.
And then, Frey uttered what perhaps was the understatement of the year.
“Those adjustments helped open up some things that we were looking for.”
Yes, they did.
Messiah instantly began pummeling the Blue Jays' back row with runs toward the frame, relentlessly pressing forward until Hopkins could handle no more. The attack opened with three consecutive saves from Guszkowski — who re-entered at the half — thwarting what looked to be three certain goals from the hosts.
Junior Erin Hench broke through the defense to have a point-blank look at the frame with less than two minutes elapsed, only to fire a rocket directly to Guszkowski. Guszkowski stopped another Hench attempt just two minutes later, pouncing on a direct shot that the lanky forward fired from 15 yards out on a breakaway.
When a Hench shot was deflected to senior Amy Horst on the left flank with 37:40 to go, it was an almost lock that the Falcons would get on the board. With time and space, Horst settled the ball and ripped a laser off her left foot … only to again hit the ball directly to an awaiting Guszkowski.
To Guszkowski's credit, Messiah never had a chance for a rebound on any of those attempts.
But the pressure was starting to wear on the JHU defense.
Finally, at the 59:25 mark, Messiah's persistence paid off. Hench was able to break through the right flank just outside the 18-yard box, slipping a short cross to senior Amanda Naeher, who was making a run into the box from the midfield.
Naeher slid into the ball, sending a low roller just inside the near post, and just out of reach of Guszkowski.
There would be no scoreless tie on this night.
Sophomroe Leah Sipe rounded off Messiah's scoring just over five minutes later, putting an absolute blast into the meat of the net off a cross from freshman Corinne Wulf. In similar fashion to Naeher and Hench's connection, Wulf first broke through the right side to serve a ball to just inside the 18-yard box, where Sipe was waiting.
Sipe's bullet set off a jubilant celebration from the Ephrata, Pa. native, as the emotions of this game were certainly not lost on those wearing the uniforms.
“We were excited to play this one, and it showed,” Frey said, smiling. “This was one of those games where I can't say that 'so-and-so' played well, because I'd have to say that about almost everyone.”
The Falcons' back row surely deserved much credit, as they proved their worth perhaps moreso in this game than in any other. Sophomore Kelsey Gorman, senior Carey Cortese and juniors Katie Hoffsmith and Molly Bletz all were superb, as Frey noted.
“People don't realize how good our back row is, because everyone wants to talk about how we attack,” Frey said. “Well, they allow us to attack the way we do. The balls they play are great, and tonight I'd guess we won about 80 percent of the balls in the air. That just wears on a team. Every time you make a push, we're right back at you. That's tough on anyone.”
Messiah's depth also may have proven a factor, as the Falcons appeared to slowly wear down JHU as the night went on. After outshooting the visitors by an 8-1 count in the first half, the Falcons rattled off a 23-1 difference in the second, tallying 10 second-half corner kicks to JHU's one.
Messiah — ranked atop the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — will now sit idle until Saturday, when the team will travel to St. Mary's College. That game is slated to begin at 4 p.m.
“How we maintain this level of play, this intensity, that's the next challenge,” Frey said. “It's always about playing to a standard for us. That's important.”
