Box Score
By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
Grantham, PA — After only scoring eight total goals in the team's first two games combined, Messiah met that mark within the first 16 minutes of Wednesday's contest against Neumann University and never looked back. Led by sophomore Kevan Schellenburg's five goals, the Falcons earned their first win of the season against the Knights, 20-8.
“A win is never easy or ever given,” Messiah head coach Geof Weisenborn said. “We came into today's game mentally
prepared and to aggressive.”
It was a very true statement as Messiah (1-2) scored four goals in the game's first 4:31, evenly distributed between sophomores Hayden Geating, Kyle Sproles, Schellenburg and junior James Baden.
“I was glad we could get results early,” Weisenborn said. “We played well against good teams in our two scrimmages and our first two games. We improved in every game and in the practices between, but we didn't get the results we wanted. We got those results finally here. But as well as our offense played in the first half, our defense wasn't up to our standard, especially in the first half.
In the first quarter, Neumann (1-3) capitalized off two man-up advantages fairly easily. With sophomores Heath Kupecky and Jess Rogers in the penalty box, the Knights' first two goals were fluid and effortless, needing only three passes on both attacks.
At the 8:20 mark, Neumann's Justin Mailloux received a pass from teammate Mark Consolo on the left side of the cage and scored for the Knights. And on an eerily similar play, the Knights' Mike Pantelone scored on the right side of the net receiving an assist from Rich Louis at the 6:14 mark.
But the Falcons would respond, scoring three goals in the final five minutes of the quarter, including a buzzer-beating goal from Schellenburg. The early success continued into the second period, as the Falcons tacked on five goals. Yet, Weisenborn noted that the first-half defense wasn't up to the normal standard the program strives for.
“We gave up three goals in the second (quarter) that I thought were too easy for them,” Weisenborn said. “We just weren't sharp. We were chasing the ball too much. At half, I reminded our defense about the standard we strive for and what our goal defensively always is. We settled in the second half and that was because of our defense stepping up.”
But the Falcons, who are improving their play in their new offense, went on an offensive dry spell, as Messiah only scored a goal in a span of 15 minutes from the 4:42 mark in the second to the 5:37 mark in the third.
“We have been improving on good defenses,” Weisenborn commented. “Gettysburg has one of the best defenses in the nation. They just shut down Salisbury [University] who is one of the top offenses in the nation. I thought we played well in spurts against Gettysburg and we played tough against Ursinus. We have had good opportunities to score and some great chances in our attack.”
The major key for the Falcons was heard throughout the game through Weisenborn's sideline shouts:
Move the ball.
“It is important to move the ball around in our offense,” Weisenborn noted. “We aren't trying to beat and break people down one-v-one. We are trying to pass the ball around with consistency to create good movement on and off the ball. Today, we scored 20 goals with 13 assists. That tells a lot about our offensive efficiency.”
Messiah ended the game on a seven to three run. Schellenburg lead the way with five goals and one assist while Baden scored twice and dished out four assists on the game for six points as well. Five players scored two goals while senior J.J. Miller led the way in the midfield with 10 ground balls and winning 15 of 19 face-offs.
But Messiah can only bask in victory for so long, as the team now prepares to travel to York College Saturday. Currently, the Spartans are 4-0 and averaging just under 14 goals per game.
“Today was a good win for us,” senior Eric Petters said, “but we know that we have to set our focus on York now. They are a very good team and us seniors haven't beaten them in our four years yet. We have to get back to work in practice and prepare ourselves mentally for the game.”
Weisenborn agreed.
“York has a good offense and they are playing well right now,” he said. “Offensively, we are going to play our style of lacrosse, but defensively, we have to step up to our standard. We can't let the game be an 18-16 type of game. That isn't our style. We have to come out on both ends and play our best.”
Game time is set for 1 p.m. at the Spartans' Kinsley Field.
