Box Score
Grantham, PA – In what may go down as one of the wildest final minutes of a Commonwealth Championship game, Messiah College came away with a 1-0 victory of Lebanon Valley College. The win solidified the Falcons' sixth-straight Commonwealth title, sending them to the NCAA Tournament once again.
Sophomore
Brian Ramirez scored the game's only a goal, sending home a forceful kick from 23 yards out in the 19th minute of play. Ramirez's goal was assisted by
Jack Thompson, as Thompson found his classmate streaking through the midfield unchecked for the impressive strike.
Ramirez's goal would stand through the end of the game, though both teams contributed to great suspense in the final 58 seconds.
As the clock ticked into the last minute, the Falcons received an indirect free kick from just six yards off the right post of Lebanon Valley's goal; Messiah was given the kick after keeper James Clements handled a ball that was played back to him from his defense. As the Dutchmen scrambled to set up a wall on the post, Messiah played the kick to the far post where both
Joshua Wood (blocked) and
Jeremy Payne (high) had shots miss the net.
Though Messiah was unable to capitalize on the unusual play, it seemed as though the clock would quickly run down to a Falcons victory. But with 34 seconds remaining, Messiah was called for a foul 40 yards out from their goal. With the Dutchmen bringing Clements out of the goal and into their attacking third, Zach Snavely sent the free kick towards the Falcons' 18-yard line. His kick stayed though, however, allowing Messiah to quickly break forward in what appeared to be a chance at breaking past midfield and toward the Dutchmen's open goal.
The Falcons' hopes at a punctuating-goal would quickly dashed, however, as they were stopped just before midfield with an offsides call. Now with just nine seconds remaining, Clements lined the ball up for the free kick—again from about 40 yards out from the Falcons' goal. With every other person on the field lining up in front of the Messiah net, Clements lofted the ball towards the middle of the box. There, Messiah keeper
Brandon West leapt over players from both teams to punch the ball away; however, the ball ricocheted quickly to the Dutchmen's Kyle Franks on the left side of the goal box. Franks quickly touched the ball down and turned left to fire a shot off the left corner of the crossbar.
As the ball landed near the 18-yard line, the final horn sounded to preserve the Falcons' 1-0 win.
“(The last minute) took a long time,” Messiah head coach
Brad McCarty said, reflecting on the multiple stoppages of time in the last 60 seconds. “When you foul teams and make mistakes, you give them a chance like they had to launch a ball at our goal. They made the most of it, and they almost scored.”
The Commonwealth Championship victory was Messiah's sixth-straight, and 11th in the past 13 years. Of those 11 titles, it was their fifth win by a one-goal margin.
“I'm really proud of those guys in the back row, and West,” McCarty said of his defensive group. “They've given up six goals all season, and in a game like today that really means something. Wins like these are a testament to those players on the field.”
Sunday's game between Messiah and LVC wasn't the cleanest game played all season, especially considering the 34 combined fouls called on the rivals. From McCarty's perspective, that was partially the result of sloppy play by the Falcons.
“We talk a lot about playing quality soccer and passing the ball, but you have to bring the other side of that coin—and that's toughness,” McCarty said. “I don't think we played our best, not very well. Some of that was LVC, but some of it is ours to own.”
Regardless of the game's aesthetics, the Falcons managed to meet the test of an LVC team making their first appearance in the Commonwealth Championship in program history. Messiah took 18 shots against just three for the Dutchmen, playing much of the game in the midfield and their attacking third. Though not capitalizing on their chances to break the game open, Messiah—and their crossbar—did just enough to win.
“Something it's about giving yourself a chance to win and advance, and we did that today,” McCarty said. “I was proud of our guys and their effort.”
With his game-winning goal, Ramirez was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
In the losing effort, Lebanon Valley falls to 13-5-2 and has an outside chance at qualifying for the NCAA postseason.
With the win, Messiah moves to 19-0-1 and will look forward to playing in their 16th-straight NCAA Championships Tournament. For the fourth-straight year, the Falcons will enter the NCAA postseason as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
Messiah's seeding in the upcoming tournament—which is to start on Saturday, Nov. 10—will be released in the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 5. Fans are encouraged to visit
GoMessiah.com to find the link for the show.
MSOC: Champions for Sixth Straight Time Gallery
