Box Score
By Matt McDermott, GoMessiah.com student manager
Grantham, PA — Messiah has a date with destiny against Widener University in the MAC Championship.
The Falcons just had to get through FDU-Florham first.
Led by senior Phil Wendt's three goals, Messiah used two four-goal runs in Wednesday night's MAC Semi-Final to send the Devils packing by a score of 14-7, earning a rematch with Widener in Saturday's MAC Finals.
Action was back-and-forth between the two teams, as each squad scored two goals in consecutive sequences. But at 12:40 mark in the second quarter, junior James Baden started Messiah's first four-goal run, taking a 6-2 lead with 4:19 left in the first half.
Baden scored twice in the run and Wendt dropped three of the team's first six goals, leading the way offensively for Messiah (12-4).
Sophomore Heath Kupecky, who returned to the starting line-up after recovering from injury, capped off the first half offense for the Falcons with 47 seconds left after FDU's Paul Colflesh scored the Devils' third goal of the game.
Entering the intermission, Messiah's offense was rolling, producing 24 shots in the opening half. The defense stood strong as well, as senior goalie Zach Cureton stopped 10 of 14 shots in the first 30 minutes of play.
The second half was much of the same, as the Falcons continued their offensive ways early. Sophomores Keven Schellenburg, Kyle Sproles and Kupecky each scored a goal in just over a minute span from the 11:35 to 10:32 marks.
FDU's Adam Koontz pushed back almost single handedly, scoring back-to-back goals and three of four goals for the visitors in the second half.
But as Wendt led the first half for the Falcon offense, so did Sproles in the second, scoring three goals in the half, finishing off his strong day in the midfield.
Wednesday's finale was capped by a remarkable goal from freshman long stick defender Drew Cortese, who received possession from Cureton to start transition with six minutes to go in the game. As Cortese pressed up the field, he saw space towards the cage, and with the instincts of an attacker, hurled his first goal of the season at the 5:54 mark, causing an eruption from the Messiah bench.
Now, with Messiah's goal of winning the MAC Championship in reach, the last task is traveling to Chester, PA, again, and facing the conference's lone undefeated team in Widener Saturday.
Messiah made the trip two times already this season, the first ending in a 3-3, postponed game due to lightning and a 6-10 defeat on Apr. 19 — a game in which the Falcons were out shot 27-50 and turned the ball over 20 times.
Game time for Saturday's MAC Championship is set for 7 p.m. at Widener's Edith R. Dixon Field.
