Saint Davids, PA — Rarely in sports does a team have a chance at immediate retribution following a loss. Messiah will get that opportunity Monday.
A 9-3 defeat at Eastern University sealed the Falcons' post-season fate Saturday afternoon, as Messiah (8-7, 7-4) dropped to the MAC Conference's fifth seed as a result. The Eagles, meanwhile, solidified their position as the league's fourth seed with the win, pitting the teams in a rare instant rematch: Messiah will travel to Eastern's Olson Field Monday afternoon for one of the MAC Tournament's First Round contests, approximately 48 hours after time expired in Saturday's game.
“We get to do it again,” said Geof Weisenborn, Messiah head coach, “and considering how things went today, we're glad to have the opportunity.”
Things went about as poorly as could be reasonably expected for Weisenborn's group Saturday, as the Falcons surrendered four goals in the final 12 minutes of the first half to trail by a 6-1 score at the intermission. A finish from freshman Kyle Sproles early in the second quarter helped trim an early 2-0 Eastern lead in half, but the hosts responded with a flurry to close out the period.
Despite Messiah's winning eight of nine first-half face-offs, it was Eastern (12-4, 9-2) that was more efficient offensively, converting six of its 16 first-half shots compared to the Falcons' one of 14 performance.
“Today was a case of Eastern being very sharp, and us not playing well at all,” Weisenborn said. “They really executed on their offensive end, and we didn't place our shots well. When we did shoot on goal, (shots) invariably went right into to torso of Eastern's goalie.
“When you get down by a 6-1 score at halftime, it's tough,” he continued.
That difference would prove to be more than enough, as a third-period opening goal from senior Nate Windon and an early fourth-quarter score from senior John Murdock were trumped by three second-half goals from the hosts, leading to the 9-3 final.
The score was not indiciative of early possession, as junior J.J. Miller won 15 of the game's 16 face-offs. Messiah finished with 25 turnovers on the afternoon, however, a number that dwarfed 16 saves from sophomore goalie Josh Stewart.
Weisenborn's group outshot Eastern by a 36-30 count on the day and picked up 29 ground balls to the Eagles' 30, but poor execution on offense foiled any chance at a victory.
In hindsight, a Messiah win would have brought Eastern to Anderson Field for Monday's MAC Tournament opener. With Saturday's game ultimately being about home field advantage, Weisenborn said he wasn't overly concerned.
“We've got to play (Eastern) again, either way,” he said. “Sure, we'd like it to be on our field in regards to travel and such, but we've got an opportunity in front of us. We've got to embrace it. There are some adjustments that we'll make and some things we'll do differently, and I think our guys are excited about those changes. Hopefully, we can learn some things from this game and really apply them Monday.”
The defeat was the Falcons' worst since early March, while the team's three goals were the fewest since a 1-11 defeat to Ursinus College back on Mar. 6.
Again, Weisenborn was steadfast in saying those numbers don't matter.
“We played about as poorly as we have all season,” he said. “I'm confident that won't happen again Monday.”
Messiah and Eastern will face off in one of two MAC Quarter Final match-ups Monday at 4 p.m., with the winner traveling to either top-seeded Elizabethtown College or second-seeded FDU-Florham Wednesday. Game times for the league semi-finals will be announced following Monday's action.
