Box Score
Westminster, MD - Coming of a MAC Championship and trip the NCAA Championships in 2011, the Messiah College Falcons have set ambitious goals for a dominant 2012 season.
After their first game, it seems like they're on the right track.
The Falcons opened their competitive schedule with a 16-10 win over McDaniel College on Wednesday, riding a 10-4 halftime lead to a season-opening victory.
"We had a really strong start," Messiah head coach
Heather Greer said. "Everyone was on the same page for most of the game, sticking to our game plan. There were a number of great things that happened (on the field) for us to build on."
Messiah jumped out to a 9-2 lead thanks to three goals apiece from juniors
Kiersten McGreer and
Cecilia Kjellman. For McGreer, who had a total of 11 goals scored in 2011, the performance gave example to the continued development of an already-talented Messiah team.
"Kiersten had a really big game for us," Greer said of her junior attack. "She was
where she needed to be,
when she needed to be there, and able to collect some great finishes."
Kjellman's third goal of the half would give Messiah the aforementioned 9-2 lead with just 3:04 remaining before the intermission. Less than a minute later, senior
Meghan Doolittle would put the Falcons up 10-2.
Seemingly in complete control of the game, Messiah uncharacteriscally allowed six of the next eight goals be tallied by the Green Terror. While still leading 12-8, Greer recognized the need for her team to learn an early lesson in controlling momentum.
"There was a huge momentum shift in the middle of the game," Greer said. "We allowed them to score too many goals, and we started to play 'tight.' Thankfully, we were able to refocus ourselves and get back to being on the attack."
That attack would include scoring four of the game's final five goals, including the fourth and fifth goals of the game by senior
Rachel Dirksen. Dirksen would finish with her five goals on just eight shots-- seven on goal. She added an assist.
"Dirk is a rare middie," Greer said of her midfielder and leader. "Most players have strengths on either the offensive or defensive end-- Dirk is so good on both. She's a special player."
Messiah, ranked #12 and #13 in both the US Lacrosse and IWLCA preseason polls, respectively, would finish the game with 33 shots (26 on goal) compared to just 19 for McDaniel (13 on goal). Messiah collected 22 ground balls compared to 15 for McDaniel; however, the Green Terror collected one more ground ball in the second half (9-8) than Messiah-- perhaps a confirmation that some of the Falcons' momentum was lost.
"I'm thankful that we can look at this game and remind ourselves of the importance of playing to our strengths for the entire game," Greer said. "To learn that lesson and still get a win? That's a good thing."
The Falcons will now look forward to their season's home opener against SUNY Fredonia on Saturday, March 3. The game is set to start a 1:00 p.m. on Messiah's Anderson Field.
"We have a lot of talent on this team," Greer said. "It's up to us to continue putting the pieces together."
