By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
Reading, PA — In a post-game interview earlier this season, Messiah head coach Geof Weisenborn was asked about his team's offensive ability, and was quoted as saying his team is “not going to score 17 or 18 goals a game to beat a team.”
With all due respect, he was wrong.
Messiah dealt MAC Conference foe Alvernia University a 24-1 haymaker Tuesday evening at Schlager Memorial Field, the most goals scored in Weisenborn's five-season tenure and just seven off the program record of 31 set against King's College in the 1999 season.
Tuesday night, it didn't take long for the goals to come for Messiah (8-6, 7-3), and when they started, they didn't stop. The Falcons rattled off 16 first-half goals against the host Crusaders, holding a shutout through three quarters of play.
“I think this was a case where we were very, very good, and Alvernia did not play as well as they could have,” Weisenborn said afterward. “We were very sharp and came out really firing.”
There was no exaggeration to that opinion. Junior J.J. Miller won the opening face-off and scored just 15 seconds into the game, setting the tone for the remainder of the shellacking — especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Miller would go on and win 19 of 21 face-offs that he took, and Weisenborn noted how impressive that was for the team.
“J.J. really helped in our forward progress tonight,” he said. “It felt like possession was ours all night long and one reason for the was winning so many face-offs. The middies and the guys up front really took control of the ball all game and possessed really well.”
But the offensive opulence was not just Miller's. It was the entire team that created a flurry of chances, eventually leaving Reading, Pa. with 46 shots taken — 31 of which were on goal.
Eleven different Falcons scored those 16 goals in the first half, a number boosted by the production of freshman Heath Kupecky. Kupecky, who was tied for the team lead in assists with junior Phil Wendt, controlled possession and dished the ball around with precision, tossing out three assists and increasing his tally to 14 on the season. Wendt also made noise of his own with two goals and an assist.
The second half was virtually no different than the first, as Weisenborn's group scored six more in the third quarter — the first just 1:11 in. It wasn't until the margin increased to 22, that Crusaders' sophomore Jake Buzby made sure the home team would make at least some noise on this night.
Alvernia (4-12, 1-7) won the opening face-off in the fourth period and controlled possession for the first minute. That's when Buzby found space in front of him and slotted the lone score past junior goalie Zach Cureton, who was making a relief appearance in cage.
Buzby's second goal of the year was marked by a thunderous run and a subsequent one-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Freshman Jon Weimer would take advantage of the man-up opportunity and score his first goal of the year, one of four man-up chances that the Falcons converted on the night.
Long after things were said and done, Messiah posted gaudy advantages in shots (46-11), ground balls (41-12), face-offs (22-27), and clears (16-19). A total team victory, sophomore James Baden paced the offensive effort, scoring four goals on the night.
“Everyone played well tonight,” Weisenborn said. “I think (the 14 different goal scorers) might be a record for us. It just shows you that we aren't a team based off one guy. We are a team with a lot of different guys who can shoot and create pressure offensively. Defensively, we stopped all their chances but one, but besides that, I thought we continued our strong play.”
And now, with just one game left in the regular season, a slightly clearer playoff picture is in hand. Saturday afternoon, the Falcons will travel to St. David's, Pa. to face Eastern University. If the Falcons win that game, they will then host the Eagles Monday at Anderson Field in a MAC First Round match-up. If Eastern wins, the MAC playoff picture will only be decided after the remainder of Saturday's results are known.
Game time for Saturday's tilt is set for 1:30 p.m.
