Box Score
Chester, PA – For the fifth consecutive season, the Messiah College Falcons will head into the conference playoffs as the top seed.
The Falcons (14-3, 8-0 CC), ranked ninth in the most recent NFHCA poll, finished their regular season conference schedule on Wednesday evening with a perfect 8-0 record after defeating the Widener University Pride (5-11, 3-5 CC), 2-1.
The Falcons'
Brooke Sands delivered the game-winner in the 45th minute as a result of a penalty corner for the visitors. The goal was her third goal in as many games and seventh of the season.
With a potential postseason berth at stake, the hosts came out and played tough from the start. A stifling defense and two defensive saves (saves made by field players between the goalie and the net) would keep the visiting Falcons at bay for much of the first stanza.
With just over ten minutes remaining in the first half, Messiah's
Kelly Martin sent a hard shot towards the Pride's net. Senior
Juliana Hershey found some space in the defense and deflected the shot passed goalkeeper Maggie Karmeris to the upper right of the goal for a 1-0 lead. For Hershey, it was her seventh goal of the season. Martin picked up her team-leading eighth assist.
The goal was a result of just the fourth of five shots for the Falcons in the entire first half. The defensive struggle continued on both sides of the ball, yielding just one shot each over the next ten minutes of play before the break.
The Pride pounced on an opportunity very early in the second half to knot the game up at one apiece. With just 39 seconds elapsed off the clock, the Pride's Samantha Balonis gathered a loose ball in front of the net and backhanded it passed
Molly Gebrosky. A raucous celebration erupted from the Pride's bench, keeping the hosts in the game.
But, junior
Brooke Sands would seal the deal just ten minutes later, putting the Falcons up 2-1, a mark that would stand for the remaining 25 minutes of play.
The Falcons held the Pride to just three shots on the afternoon, the second lowest amount allowed this season (1 to Arcadia, 10/20).
Messiah will finish the 2012 regular season with a trip to Geneva, N.Y., for a showdown with the 11th-ranked William Smith College Herons. The opening whistle is scheduled for noon.
