Box Score
West Palm Beach, FL — It was third-year head coach Heather Greer's team which took Tuesday's game with William Smith College by the proverbial horns at the annual Spring Fling event in West Palm Beach, Florida, scoring five of the contest's last six goals to come away with an incredible, 16-13 win over the Herons.
Greer collected her first head coaching win in four total Spring Fling contests and first over a William Smith side in three attempts.
And it all happened because the Falcons were at their best during winning time.
With the Herons leading 12-11 with 13:51 to play, Messiah (2-2) poured in five of the game's last six scores — all coming in the last 4:37 of play.
Sophomore Rachel Dirksen scored four of those markers — all unassisted — as Messiah captured its second consecutive win in heart-stopping fashion.
“Today was a total team effort,” Greer said. “It was a hard-fought battle from start to finish. We could not afford to let up for a minute against a team like William Smith, and we fought that 'lull' like we have been striving for since the beginning of the season.
“I could not be more proud of how we played from start to finish,” she continued. “We worked extremely hard, worked as a team and played with heart.”
Perhaps Messiah's finish was most important, as William Smith (1-2) kept things within a one-goal difference until the final five minutes of play. The teams shared 11 ties throughout the contest, with the Herons unable to generate more than a one-goal lead throughout.
An unassisted goal from freshman Maddie Comfort opened the game just 44 seconds in, but William Smith responded to tie the score just over a minute later. Another Comfort goal was answered by two Heron markers, and when sophomore Rachel Coyle converted off a pass from junior Megan Bovenzi with 15:11 to go in the first half, the score was tied for the third time.
Back and forth the teams went, with a goal from the Herons' Lucy Johnson making it an 8-7 William Smith lead at the half. The statistics were nearly even throughout the game's first 30 minutes — Messiah outshot the Herons by a 16-15 count and picked up 11 ground balls to William Smith's seven — and Greer said she knew she was in for a battle.
“Needless to say, it was a lot closer than even the final score indicated,” Greer said. “It was literally goal for goal, and we really played well all over the field.”
Bovenzi tied the game at 8-8 just four minutes out of the halftime blocks, and freshman Cecilia Kjellman found the range moments later, scoring at the 23:36 and 22:16 points to keep things even.
Another score from Comfort — this one off a free position shot — tied the game at 11 with 17:53 to play, but William Smith regained the lead just four minutes later, scoring an unassisted goal with 13:51 to play.
Freshman goalie Taylor Phillips kept things from getting any worse, saving a Herons' free position shot with 12:39 to go and making a miraculous point-blank stop with 5:51 on the game clock.
Following a ground ball pick up from Coyle around the five-minute mark, Dirksen went to work: Messiah's offense began to run through the Harleysville, Pa. native, as Dirksen scored consecutive goals at the 4:37, 4:03 and 3:29 points — putting Messiah ahead by a 14-12 lead.
William Smith pulled within a one-goal lead with 3:14 to play, but senior Emily Van Hook controlled the ensuing draw control, and Messiah played keep-away: The Herons had to pressure out in hopes to regain possession, and Dirksen made them pay once more. Her goal with 2:11 to play made it a 15-13 Falcons' lead.
Now desperately needing possession of the ball, Messiah kept William Smith searching, as Kjellman came up with the ensuing draw and got the ball back to Dirksen. Dirksen then fed Bovenzi for a nifty finish with 1:29 to go, providing the final score.
The Herons could not get the ball back in the final minute, as sophomore Jess Stevens collected the game's final draw for the Falcons, giving Messiah 20 of the total 32 draws on the day.
“We know how important possession is, and Maddie, RC (Coyle) and Jess came up big today in draw controls,” Greer said. “They were aggressive and fought hard for every ball.”
Comfort, Coyle and Stevens each secured four draws on the afternoon, while Dirksen registered five goals or more for fifth time in her short career. Bovenzi added three goals, while Coyle and Kjellman each had two — both of Kjellman's coming in the second half.
Sophomore Deb Tam scored Messiah's other goal, her first of the season.
“Dirk(sen) has matured so much as a player,” Greer said. “She is both mentally and physically stronger than she was last year, and this year she has also really started to help her teammates become better players each and every day. Maddie scored some early goals for us today which really created that spark that we needed right from the start. Cecilia had a rough start but then pushed through and really came alive thanks to her teammates encouraging her to get back in the game. She had some great takes and made good decisions. I know each game Ceal will just get better and better with more college experience.”
Phillips finished with 10 saves in goal, five in each half.
“Taylor had some big saves for us late in the game which kept us neck and neck right until the end,” Greer said. “We knew we needed to keep fresh legs in the midfield and (sophomore) Jaime (Gerhart) was a huge part of making that happen.”
Messiah will take a one-day hiatus before facing 14th-ranked Amherst College Thursday in Spring Fling action. Game time is set for 11:30 a.m.
“We know it is going to take the same kind of effort that was put forth today if we want to beat Amherst,” Greer said. “I think we're ready for that next challenge.”
