Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Messiah launched off the 2010 post-season Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field.
It appeared very much a continuation of the regular-season.
The Falcons scored three times in the game's first seven minutes en route to a 6-1 Commonwealth Conference Semi-Final victory over Alvernia University, winning the team's 11th straight game on the year and 32nd consecutive on its home turf. A slew of early goals gave Messiah a 5-0 lead at halftime while a strong defensive effort held up late, propelling the Falcons to Saturday's Commonwealth Championship game.
“In our (team devotions) this whole week, we kept trying to instill passion into the girls,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah head coach. “We were stressing how Christ should be our example and if we want to follow Christ, we should play like He would. I think the girls took that out to the field and played very hard.”
Senior Kourtney Ehly — a First-Team All-Commonwealth selection at forward — scored at the 4:53 and 5:38 marks to give Messiah (15-2) an early lead against a team it had defeated 3-0 back on Oct. 9. For Ehly, it was her team-leading 14th and 15th goals of the season.
Sophomore Juliana Hershey played a pivotal role in each of the next three goals, scoring twice and assisting senior Julie Barton on another to give the Falcons a 5-0 lead just over 20 minutes into the contest.
“We really came out on fire,” Trapp said. “The starters played very well.”
Barton, who was last year's Division III National Player of the Year, earned First-Team All-Conference status again this year and shared in Commonwealth Player of the Year honors. Her two assists in the matchup gave her a team-high 15 for the season, nearly twice as much as any other Falcon.
“Julie has been so critical to our success this season,” Trapp said. “She has been just playing great. (Junior) Kelly Martin also had a magnificent game, Kourtney Ehly was wonderful for us and (senior) Amber ([Philpot] Good) has been our offensive workhorse, just the way she moves the ball for us.”
Wednesday proved one of the top outings for Messiah's defense as well, which held Alvernia (11-9) scoreless until a late goal in the 52nd minute of action. The Falcons limited the Crusaders to just four shots and five penalty corners in 70 minutes, coming within the second-half score of the team's 12th shutout of the season.
“I know a lot of the girls thought we didn't play our best game against (Alvernia) earlier this season, and I think they were happy with how we played today,” Trapp said.
Freshman goalkeepers Kayleigh Stewart and Molly Gebrosky saw their first taste of collegiate post-season action and performed admirably, combining for four saves in splitting time between the pipes.
“Neither Kayleigh nor Molly were tested a lot, but I thought they responded well when given the opportunity,” Trapp said.
A goal by senior Lauren Tennis off an assist from classmate (Philpot) Good with under 10 minutes remaining capped off the scoring for the day for Messiah. That in and of itself was a special moment, as Tennis notched her first goal of the season after a lengthy recovery from an ACL tear last year.
The Falcons advance to arguably their toughest test of the season to date this Saturday, as Messiah — ranked atop the Kookaburra/NFHCA Top 20 Coaches Poll — hosts second-ranked Lebanon Valley College for the Commonwealth Championship at Anderson Field. The Falcons, who defeated the Flying Dutchmen 3-2 in overtime in this regular-season's matchup, swept LVC in three games last season — two of which were in the post-season.
“LVC is a tremendous team,” Trapp said. “We're going to really need to come out and just play the absolute best field hockey we can play.”
Saturday's game time is slated for 1 p.m. As will all Commonwealth Conference post-season events, admission will be charged: Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $2 for students. Children ages six and under will be admitted free.
