Box Score
Chester, PA — A career-high six goals from freshman Maddie Comfort and a pair of dominating runs helped Messiah to its seventh straight MAC Conference win Wednesday afternoon, as the Falcons handed Widener University a 19-10 defeat at the Pride's Edith R. Dixon Field.
Widener (8-5, 5-3) scored the game's first tally just a minute and a half into play, but four straight goals from the Falcons permanently turned the tide. Comfort scored her first of the day three minutes after the Pride's opening goal, while junior Megan Bovenzi finished a feed from freshman Cecilia Kjellman two and a half minutes later.
When sophomore Rachel Dirksen converted a free position shot and Comfort scored off a pass from Dirksen in the span of 77 seconds, Messiah (10-3, 8-1) possessed a 4-1 lead.
The hosts would not go away quietly, however, as Widener's 12.9-goal-per-game offense had its chances. The Pride recorded 21 total shots on the afternoon, testing freshman goalie Taylor Phillips.
Messiah head coach Heather Greer said she was up to the test, as she finished with seven saves.
“Widener had some great shots today but Tay had some bigger saves,” Greer said. “She is great at vocally leading the team back there, which is key for us to have that voice coming from the cage.”
The Pride essentially traded scores with Greer's club for the remainder of the first half, with Comfort's third goal of the period making it a 7-4 game. Dirksen then notched her second marker with just under four minutes remaining in the period, giving Messiah a 8-4 lead that would remain through the intermission.
While Comfort and Dirksen's scores would help the Falcons close the first period on a strong note, they would be part of something much larger.
Four Messiah goals over the second half's first six minutes blew the game open, giving the Falcons a 12-4 lead via a 6-0 scoring run. Comfort finished two goals in that stretch, while Dirksen, Bovenzi, sophomore Meghan Doolittle and sophomore Rachel Coyle all knocked in points as well.
In the end, the surge was just too great. Widener scored six goals over the final 22:32, but Messiah kept the pressure on, adding another seven for the eventual 19-10 win. Comfort added two more in that final span, while Dirksen recorded three of Messiah's final five scores, giving her five on the day.
Senior Emily Van Hook even got into the scoring action, ripping an unassisted tally at the 20:56 mark. It was just her second goal of the year.
“Maddie and Dirk put up big numbers for us today, and they are our biggest and best finishers,” Greer said. “But the great thing about our attack is that all seven out there can score. Even our low D had some great shots.”
Bovenzi added three scores while Kjellman had two. Senior Andrea Thomas continued her stellar play in the defensive third, finishing with eight ground balls. Coyle recorded a team-leading six caused turnovers, while Comfort and Coyle each had four draw controls — helping Messiah to an 18-13 advantage in total draws on the day.
“Low D is really starting to get involved in the draws which is great,” Greer said. “They are able to really run through the ball and get that momentum going which sets us up for a nice transition and Em(ily Van Hook) was on top of that today. On attack we really want to push the ball, but today we were forcing the ball. There is a big difference and not something we ever want to see or do again. We had great pressure on the ride to get it back, but we don't want to keep giving ourselves so much clean-up work.”
Messiah begins its final regular-season conference push Saturday at Manhattanville College, as the Falcons will meet the Valiants for a 2 p.m. contest. The team then closes out its regular-season with a pair of home games, facing Alvernia University next Tuesday and Eastern University the following Saturday.
