By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
Gettysburg, PA — It was nationally-ranked Gettysburg College early and often Wednesday afternoon, as the Bullets jumped all over the Falcons by a score of 14-2 as both teams embarked on the 2010 season at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
Gettysburg — ranked third in the USILA Division III Pre-Season Top 20 Poll — scored the first seven goals of the contest, holding off the Falconss' attack for over 24 minutes. Just before the scoreboard hit the 6:30 minute mark in the second period, junior
Phil Wendt found classmate
J.J. Miller on the left side of the field, allowing Miller to sling a shot from 12 yards away into the back of the net.
Despite the early deficit, Messiah head coach Geof Weisenborn said that his expectations for the game were different than normal.
“We weren't playing against Gettysburg,” Weisenborn said. “Today we were playing against ourselves. We have a level of play where we need to play at and that is what we wanted out of today's game. We expected to play at a standard that we set for ourselves.”
It seemed, however, that the first half was about playing Gettysburg, as ball control and possession was dictated by the 2009 NCAA Division III national runner-ups. Attacks did build for the Falcons early, but the lack ball control and tough hits by the Bullets halted any type of momentum.
With 3:52 left on the clock in the second period, Messiah looked to be building and connecting some passes as the defense had just stopped the Gettysburg attack. But as sophomore defender
Jared Nies turned and sprinted towards midfield, he passed to freshman
Greg Morrissey. Morrissey was then met by Bullets' junior middie J.C. Ward, who smashed him with a crashing hit, leaving Morrissey on the turf and the hosts seconds away from a score.
Ward scooped up the loose ball and passed to senior Patrick Koehl who found classmate Josh Reichert for his third goal on the day. Gettysburg would add one more in the quarter for a half time score of 9-1 — leading the opening period in shots (23-7) and ground balls (17-11).
But — thanks to a remindful halftime speech from Weisenborn — Messiah settled down and rededicated itself of the standard of play.
“(At halftime) I talked about our approach and our focus,” Weisenborn said. “The focus was on ourselves and us getting better. We lost the ball too much as we were handling and it hurt us.”
As Miller won the faceoff at the start of the third period, the Falcons began to rise to the standard of play that Weisenborn expected from his squad. Junior goalie
Zach Cureton started the period, replacing sophomore
Josh Stewart who played during the first half. Cureton and Miller seemed to instantly increase the level of play, setting a strong example for the rest of the Falcons.
While Cureton would allow five goals, all in the third period, he also made seven saves while facing 16 shots.
But Weisenborn said he noticed something more from his goalie.
“Zach really came up big in the second half,” Weisenborn said. “He really stepped up for us in the net and he made some great saves in the second half that were goals in the first half. When he came off the bench, it really provided us with a tempo of how we should play.”
With Cureton in the net for the third period, Messiah did seem to have a strong presence in the midfield and strung together passes better than their first half showing.
Junior
Pete Owens was a beneficiary of this passing and possession.
Five minutes into the period, Reichert was called for a slashing penalty, allowing Messiah to initiate its man up offense. The Falcons would capitalize on the ensuing attack, as senior
Nate Windon found Owens on the left side near the net — getting the ball quickly around the crease. Owens' shot seemed to be reckless as it was from no angle, but his risk was a big reward for Messiah — scoring his first goal of the year and the team's second on the day.
“The second half, the guys played with tenacity and patience,” Weisenborn said. “They really played with no fear. J.J. did a great job at face offs. He won almost every draw (14-19 on face offs) against Gettysburg's guy who is really good.”
Twenty-third yeaer Gettyburg head coach Hank Janczyk was also complimentary of Miller, saying, “He is one of the best face off guys in the country.”
Messiah finished the game grabbing 26 ground balls, attempting 19 shots (10 in the final period) and had a total of 15 saves on the game.
“I am never pleased with a loss or a result like this,” Weisenborn added, “but I am pleased with the steps the guys have made since Saturday (in a scrimmage at Dickinson College).
“Playing an easy team early doesn't gage where the guys are at,” Weisenborn continued. “You can win and run up the score but it doesn't show where we need to get better; what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. I like playing a team like Gettysburg because we can improve throughout the season and now we have 10 days to get better before our next game.”
That next game will be the Falcons' home opener against Ursinus College on Saturday, Mar. 6 at Anderson Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
