Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — When the 2010 Messiah field hockey schedule was created, one game stood out from all the rest:
The September 18th contest against Salisbury University, the school that defeated Messiah 1-0 in last year's NCAA Division III National Championship.
For Messiah fans, last year's title game disappointed. Saturday's did not.
The Falcons controlled both the ball and ultimately the outcome on a gorgeous afternoon at Anderson Field, securing a 3-0 win against top-ranked — and previously unbeaten — Salisbury (5-1).
“We have quite a history with (Salisbury),” said Jan Trapp, Messiah head coach. “It's an intense rivalry. Not one of those ugly ones, but just a good rivalry because we're both such competitive teams.”
The Falcons and the Sea Gulls have faced one another eight times in regular-season play since 2003, with each team recording four wins. Salisbury — which has knocked Messiah out of the NCAA National Tournament in three of the last seven seasons — couldn't quite keep up with the Falcons' potent offense Saturday, surrendering a total 13 shots and 14 penalty corners to the hosts.
“The girls put up a really great effort today,” Trapp said. “They played well as a team. Their speed and ball handling skills were excellent and they brought an arsenal of an attack, which is exactly what we needed against a team like Salisbury.”
In a battle of two supremely talented teams, neither squad could push across a goal early on.
Messiah (4-1) capitalized on a penalty corner at the 18:43 mark, as senior Julie Barton took the insert and passed off to junior Kilee Rosenberry, who knocked it in for the first goal of the day.
“It took us a lot of time to get that first goal,” Trapp said. “Once we did, though, it gave us a lot of confidence on the field. It made the girls hungry for more.”
Despite peppering the Salisbury back line for eight first-half shots, the Sea Gulls' defense stood strong until the break, with Messiah taking a slim, 1-0 advantage into halftime.
Trapp's club wasted no time in the second half, however, as Barton — last year's NCAA Division III National Player of the Year — took a pass from Amber (Philpot) Good and drilled a shot from the middle of the field, about 25 feet out. The goal, scored at the 39:16 mark, gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead against a team they had been unable to muster a goal against in the last outing.
With an insurance goal on the board, the Falcons maintained a strong defensive effort throughout the second half, as an excellent clear from sophomore Leann Carroll midway through the half kept what almost certainly would have been a Sea Gulls' goal off the board.
For the day, the Falcons outshot the reigning national champions (13-4) and finished with a sizable difference in penalty corners (14-5).
“Our defense really dashed (Salisbury's) hopes,” Trapp said. “We were really good out there, we got almost everyone in to play. There was a lot of subbing and it took a total team effort.”
Another goal by Barton — also assisted by Good — with just 78 seconds to play effectively ended the game, topping off a phenomenal performance by the Falcons.
“The offense was just amazing,” Trapp said. “Julie had a fantastic game for us, and she really set the standard with her penalty corners today. (Seniors) Kourtney (Ehly) and Amber (Good) had a great game as well. I thought the week off helped to rest us and we played great.”
Freshman goalie Kayleigh Stewart played all 70 minutes without allowing a goal against the top team in the nation, recording her first complete game shutout at the collegiate level.
It was the second time in as many games that Trapp's Falcons defeated a top 10 ranked team by a 3-0 score.
“We watched the game film from last year to get an idea of what we could expect today,” Trapp said. “We felt confident coming into this game and we were able to execute our game plan.”
As much as the Falcons may want to sit on Saturday's impressive win, they simply cannot. Yet another tally against a top 20 team looms next on the schedule, as Messiah will travel to Springfield, Virginia on Wednesday to face Lynchburg College — a team ranked 13th in the latest Kookaburra/NFHCA Top 20 Coaches Poll.
That contest will be played at West Springfield High School. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
