Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — For the first time in the 2010 season, Messiah played an opponent not ranked in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Top 20 Coaches Poll.
The results were what one would expect from a squad that went 4-2 against some of the best teams in the nation.
Messiah opened Commonwealth Conference play Saturday with a resounding, 5-0 win over rival Elizabethtown College, earning the team's fourth shut out win of the season while pushing its home winning streak to 27 games — a stretch dating back to the beginning of the 2008 season.
“We've come off so many tough games in row that I don't think we had all the intensity we normally would,” said Jan Trapp, Messiah head coach, following Saturday's win. “It's been a tough stretch, and I was happy to have won today.”
It was all Messiah (5-2, 1-0) from the start of the game, as freshman Brooke Sands notched her season-leading fourth goal to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead just 3:49 into the contest.
Sands' took a pass from senior Kourtney Ehly and drilled a deep shot from the right side.
“We have struggled at times converting, but it is a practice we are working especially hard at in practice,” Trapp said. “I know the girls seem intent on working at it.”
Sophomore Juliana Hershey knocked in a ball in front of the cage at a 12:25 mark. This one, off a pass from classmate Kelly Martin, put the Falcons up by two scores.
Ehly scored off a corner at 24:11, taking a pass from senior Lauren Voigt, to extend the Falcons' halftime lead to three goals.
Junior Kilee Rosenberry topped off the scoring for the day, notching two goals of her own at the 53:46 and 69:56 mark. The first came off a penalty stroke and the second was assisted by Sands — an effort that helped Rosenberry equal her season goal total of four — albeit with just 3.1 seconds remaining on the game clock.
In all, four different Falcons scored for the day, ranging all four academic classes, while the five goals tied a season-high for Messiah.
As strong as the offense was, the defense may have been even better, as the Falcons held the Blue Jays without a goal for the game. Freshman goalkeepers Kayleigh Stewart and Molly Gebrosky registered just two saves between them, primarily because the back unit of the Falcons' defense played as well as they did.
Elizabethtown (4-3, 0-1) proved dangerous on a handful of counter-attacks, but Messiah's back line was resolute.
“Both goalies played very nice,” Trapp said. “They were up to the challenge and the defense played strong. (Kayleigh and Molly) have very different strengths and weaknesses, so they challenge each other. It is a lot of fun as a coach.”
The Falcons, who won all seven conference games last year, outplayed the Blue Jays in shots (16-5) and penalty corners (11-4). It was the fourth shutout win of the season already for Trapp's bunch, which entered the year ranked second in the nation and currently hold the top spot in the most recent Kookaburra/NFHCA Top 20 Coaches Poll.
Messiah also kept its incredible home winning streak in tact, as the Falcons have not lost on Anderson Field since a 1-3 loss to Rowan University back on Sept. 13, 2008.
“It's one game at a time for us, regardless of who or where we're playing,” Trapp said. “We'll get back to work at practice, and look to improve before we play Widener (University).”
The Falcons will travel to the Pride's Edith R. Dixon Field Thursday for another league match-up. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
