Box Score
St. David's, PA – The Messiah College Falcons' three-game win streak was snapped Saturday afternoon at Eastern University by a score of 14-6. The host Eagles (5-2) jumped out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
The Falcons (4-3), playing for the first time in a week, started the game with a solid possession offensively. Junior
Matt Emerson won the opening face and presented the Falcon offense with a chance to start the scoring.
Opposing goalie Aaron Benz, starting in goal for the first time this season, had other plans for the visiting Falcons. Benz came up with two big saves on shots from
Kyle Sproles and
Nate Nester to keep the contest scoreless through the first 2:30 of the game.
Eastern's first possession, coming off the Benz save and clear, yielded a goal from Grant Ferguson to put the hosts up 1-0 with 12:03 remaining in the first.
Scoring for either team proved difficult until the Eagles put up another goal for a 2-0 lead with 1:03 remaining in the opening stanza. The Falcons answered just 30 seconds later to make the score 2-1, but Eastern managed two additional goals before the quarter ended.
In a blink of the eye, the Falcons found themselves down three entering the second quarter, a margin that proved to be too much for the Falcons to overcome.
The first quarter stats showed just how much the Eagles were controlling the game. Eastern beat out Messiah in ground balls, took more shots, and turned the ball over fewer times.
The second quarter featured more struggles by the Falcons as the hosts added to their lead, heading into the break by a score of 7-2.
Messiah seemed to have a comeback on their minds to start the second half, though.
The Falcons started the half with an extra man opportunity due to an illegal body check penalty to the Eagles with just :02 left on the clock in the first half.
It took senior
James Baden just 11 seconds to find junior
Heath Kupecky for a “room-and-time” shot that the junior buried passed Benz.
The Eagles won the ensuing face-off but in an attempt to redirect the ball through the defensemen, Baden picked off a pass and found
Kevan Schellenberg for another quick score, cutting the lead to just three goals, again.
The momentum gained by the Falcons was short-lived, however, as Eastern won the next face and took a fast break towards the Falcons net, leading to their eighth goal of the game with 14:33 left in the third.
The Falcons wouldn't get any closer.
Three more Eagle goals in the third and three in the fourth gave the hosts 14 on the day. Matt Wagner and Chris Farrar, who each had four goals on the day, led them offensively.
The Falcons were led by senior
James Baden's three-assist performance and leading scorer
Kevan Schellenberg's three goals.
The Falcon defense uncharacteristically struggled, giving up eight more goals than their season average through six games. Senior
Steve Kozuhowski was credited with nine saves in the game.
The Falcons will look to rebound from this loss on Thursday March 29th as the team will take on the Whittier College Poets (5-1) from California at Anderson Field. The opening face is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
