Box Score
By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
York, PA — Messiah head coach Scott Frey says he never likes to talk about streaks, but even he can't deny the impressive nature of this one:
61 games. 0 defeats.
With a 3-0 win at York College Tuesday night, Messiah set a new NCAA Division III Women's Soccer record for longest unbeaten streak at 61 games, a mark formerly held by Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Falcons' historic result took a similar tone to all the others in the 2010 campaign thus far, as Messiah posted its eighth shut out of the year — and sixth straight — in a dominating win over the host Spartans at York's Graham Field.
“York is a well organized team,” Frey said. “They have girls that can play well and are full of energy. We had to play the entire 90 minutes to get this result and we had to fight hard. Overall, I thought we came out strong early and that showed by the early goal.”
Just 13 minutes into the game, freshman Emily Schneider received a pass in front of the goal just six yards away from sophomore Corinne Wulf. Schneider turned clockwise away from the defender to her left and laced a lefty shot to the left post for her first collegiate goal.
“I love it when girls get their first goal,” Frey said. “Emily was out early (with an injury) in pre-season and I think it was tough for her to get adjusted. Now, she is playing effectively. She understands how we play and understands what her job is and she is playing it well. This is a result of that understanding.”
And more results kept coming, with Wulf finishing for herself.
At the 22:31 mark, senior Katie Hoffsmith served a well struck corner into the box where junior Olivia Scott headed a ball to the right post. Wulf was lingering near the post and was able to clean up the miss hit for her third goal of the year.
“She is playing great for us up top,” Frey said about Wulf. “She has great speed and seems to be at the right spots making the right plays.”
At the end of the first half, Messiah (9-0) seemed to have its trademark all over the game, posting 10 shots and four corners. But playing at York (3-6-1) is different and challenging for Messiah's possession game.
“We know how to play turf, but this field always gives us a little more trouble than most,” Frey said. “At first, our touches always seem to be a little off and a little quick. That affects our speed of play. But once everyone settles in, it is back to normal.”
And normal for this team is senior Amanda Naeher, who continues to score goals, seemingly, at will.
Just two minutes after the start of the second half, Wulf played a precise ball to the feet of Naeher, who was just outside the six-yard box. Naeher struck the ball true, finishing past York junior keeper Sarah Spanarkel for her team leading 17th goal.
With the tally, Naeher now leads the Division III nation in goal scoring, averaging 1.88 goals per game for the Falcons.
And as the game came to an end, arguably one of the most dominating teams in NCAA history etched its way into the record book.
Messiah now posts a streak of 61 games in which the Falcons have gone without a loss, dating back to August 29, 2008. The last defeat for Messiah came in the 2007 NCAA National Championship against Wheaton College (Ill.), a 1-0 loss that was the team's only defeat of the '07 season.
The streak of 61 beats the former mark set by the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan, a stretch that ran from Sept. 5, 2001 to Oct. 22, 2003. The Battling Bishops, however, still hold the record for consecutive games without a loss or a tie, a record set a at a remarkable 60 games.
During Messiah's streak, the Falcons have posted a 58-0-3 record, outscoring opponents 265 to 17. Classmates Naeher and Erin Hench have been the top producers during the streak, scoring 81 and 41 goals, respectively. The duo has also won back-to-back NSCAA National Players of the Year awards — Naeher in 2008 and Hench in 2009 — during the streak.
But after all the excitement of the new record wears off, Frey says the team will get back to getting better.
“We still have things to work on to improve ourselves,” Frey said. “You know, we set the mark, now we move on. (The streak) was nor is a focus or goal of ours. It is something that happens a long the way. We will continue to practice and continue to get better.”
Messiah opens Commonwealth Conference play next, as the Falcons travel to Lebanon Valley College Saturday. Game time is set for 12 p.m. on LVC's Herbert Field.
