Box Score
Lancaster, PA — As Messiah head coach Heather Greer walked off Franklin & Marshall College's Tylus Field on a gloomy Saturday afternoon, she raised her head to look at the scoreboard one, final time, then lowered her gaze back to the turf.
It was not the ending she, or anyone else associated with the program, had hoped for.
The host Diplomats concluded Messiah's NCAA Tournament run via a 7-4 defeat in Saturday's NCAA Second Round contest, snapping the Falcons' 14-game winning streak in abrupt fashion.
For Greer, it wasn't necessarily the loss that stung the most, but rather the manner in which it occurred.
“The hardest part is going out feeling like you didn't play your best,” she said. “We didn't play at the level that we had been playing, and that's what makes this so tough right now. If you get beat, you want to go out feeling like you gave your best effort. I think we'll have a hard time ever feeling like that about today.”
Saturday's statistics supported Greer's assertion, as Messiah (18-2) equaled its lowest goal output in Greer's four-year tenure, while setting season-low marks in shots (14), shots on goal (10), ground balls (11) draw controls (five) and caused turnovers (five).
A slow start in the attacking third slowly morphed into a slow performance throughout, as the Falcons could never find their collective rhythm offensively.
“Our defense played great today,” Greer said, “but on offense we just couldn't get it done. We made silly choices with the ball, and we never had an attacking mentality.”
Neither team raced out of the gates early in Saturday's affair, as both squads had patient possessions but could not find the back of the cage at the outset. In stark contrast to the teams' first meeting — a 10-9 overtime win for Messiah back on Mar. 15 in West Palm Beach, Florida — the game's first eight minutes came and went without a score, setting the tone for a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair.
Franklin & Marshall (19-2) got on the board first with 22:24 to go in the first half, then tacked on another — but not until 11:35 remained. When senior Andrea Thomas lost the ball with 8:54 to go in the first half, Messiah had taken just three shots and committed five turnovers, with a goose egg still showing on the scoreboard.
“We just started the game waiting for something to happen instead of taking responsibility and making something happen,” Greer said. “We played a very defensive offense early on, which put us in a hole and hurt us the rest of the game, really.”
Thankfully, the Falcons finally got on the board with 7:51 to go before the half, as junior Rachel Dirksen took matters into her own hands. Operating behind the cage, Dirksen peeled her defender with a spin move and beat F&M goalie Kelsey Hoffman high and to the left, cutting the Diplomats' lead in half.
After junior Jaime Gerhart secured Messiah's second draw control on the ensuing re-start, sophomore Cecilia Kjellman tied the game, dodging to her right from the top of the arch and bouncing a shot past Hoffman from a flat angle, the ball nestling just inside of the far pipe.
As the teams traded lengthy possessions, the ball continued to reside in Franklin & Marshall's half more often than not. The Diplomats were rewarded with their third goal just 4:13 before the intermission, when F&M's Cat Serpe picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and fired a jump shot that beat sophomore goalie Taylor Phillips from close range.
The score remained 3-2 through the break, though it wouldn't remain that way for long.
F&M opened the second half with a surge, scoring goals at the 28:45 and 23:03 marks to open up a 5-2 advantage. The problem for Greer was that both came after Messiah miscues, further shifting momentum to the side of the hosts.
A Falcons' turnover in their own attacking third led to the half's first goal, as F&M's Erin Dunne scored in transition following the giveaway. Messiah had another solid possession going just minutes later, but a poor pass led to another transition goal for the Diplomats, forcing Greer to call a timeout.
“Offensively, it was like we were waiting for someone else to do something,” Greer said. “You have to have an attacking mindset to be an attacker.”
Perhaps bolstered by Greer's words in the huddle, Messiah made its strongest push in the ensuing minutes.
After junior Jessica Stevens came up with the next draw, Messiah utilized a deliberate possession — forcing two F&M fouls — before cutting the lead to 5-3, as Kjellman made a brilliant dodge on the right flank and finished another low shot to the far post with 20:56 to play.
The teams traded possessions following the next re-start, and with 13:16 to go, Dirksen fired a shot from the middle of the eight-meter arc that banged off the top pipe and back into the field of play. Senior Kara Geiman was there to pick up a huge ground ball, then dodged from the right side to score her first of the day, firing off her left shoulder and beating Hoffman to the top shelf.
Messiah had cut the lead to 5-4, with plenty of time remaining.
Franklin & Marshall's sixth goal would be the killer.
The Diplomats won the ensuing draw control, but junior Rachel Coyle caused a turnover, giving the ball back to Messiah with 11:32 to play. The Falcons had a pair of possessions and two chances to tie the score, but turned it back over to the hosts both times, failing to chart a shot.
The extra opportunities were all the sixth-ranked Diplomats needed, as F&M's Caroline Krohn scored in transition following the Falcons' second giveaway, making it a 6-4 contest with 8:39 to play.
Krohn then came up with the next draw, putting Messiah's defense in scramble mode. A Messiah foul inside the arc gave the Diplomats their fourth free position shot of the day with 6:40 remaining, and F&M's Maggie Mae Shields finally put one past Phillips, making it a 7-4 affair.
When F&M won the next draw control — finishing the day with an 8-5 lead in that category — Greer had no choice but to pull Phillips from the cage and double the ball everywhere. Messiah committed 10 fouls in the final 5:42, but F&M showed its merit, maintaining possession until the end of the game.
After the tearful embraces ended, Greer was left to wonder what might have been.
“When was the last time we didn't have a free position shot?” she asked in the post-game press conference. (The answer was at King's College Apr. 30, a 20-4 Messiah win.) “We just never drove hard into the eight(-meter arc) to draw fouls. Offensively, this game was very unlike us.”
Even with the loss, Greer and company had plenty to celebrate, even if the mood wasn't quite right Saturday afternoon. The program set a new record for consecutive wins with 14, while the team's current IWLCA Top 20 ranking of 12th was also the best-ever.
Messiah advanced to an NCAA Second Round game for only the second time in the 15-year history of the program, while Greer guided the club to its third MAC Championship.
“I can't thank our seniors enough,” Greer said. “You have Kara who came back and finished strong, completely getting 'on the bus' and selling out for the program. She worked her tail off to get back into game shape and really finished her career strong. Andrea worked so hard to go from just a great athlete to becoming an impact player for us. Her senior year was definitely her best season.
“And Megan (Bovenzi) and Eebs (Elizabeth Graham) ... I can't say enough about them,” she continued. “The program is what it has become because they have been leading us for two years and they've done an absolutely tremendous job of putting the team above themselves at all times. They are truly servant leaders, and they couldn't have given any more to this group. They've set an incredible example for future captains to follow. We wouldn't have had the success we did without the two of them ... the off-the-field stuff, the team chemistry ... that's the kind of stuff that wins games, and they've been at the forefront of it.”
As Messiah looks to move on without its seniors, Greer said she hopes her returning players can continue in their footsteps.
“The goal is to always get better than you were before, and I think we've done that,” said Greer, who has guided Messiah to a 45-11 record in the last three years after posting a 10-7 mark in her first season at the helm. “As much as this loss hurts, we're in the hunt for a national championship. It's where we want to be every year.”
