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Grantham, PA – The Messiah College men's soccer team returned to their winning ways on Friday night, defeating the visiting Scots of Covenant College in their 2012 season opener. Three different Falcons scored for the hosts as Messiah won 3-0 in their first game since falling to Neumann University in the Second Round of the NCAA Championships Tournament last season.
Freshman
Bryant Myer assisted on the Falcons' first two goals to record the first two points of his collegiate career. Junior
Joshua Wood opened the scoring for Messiah, with senior
Dan Squire and junior
Sheldon Myer adding goals of their own.
For Wood, the goal was an encouraging sign after battling through injuries for the past two seasons. In 2009, Wood scored 19 goals en route to earning the Commonwealth Rookie of the Year.
The game opened on Shoemaker Field in dramatic fashion, with both teams coming close to taking an early lead. Messiah goalkeeper
Brandon West made a diving save on a shot by the Scots' Matt Hudnut, while a shot from the Falcons'
Brian Ramirez hit the post just moments later.
Though Messiah would manage to control the game's momentum after those early minutes, the game would remain scoreless mainly due to Covenant goalkeeper Shuler Polk. Polk collected seven saves in the first half alone, many of them in dramatic fashion while the game was scoreless.
The Falcons, ranked No. 3 in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25 Poll, finally broke through in the 38th minute of the game off the foot of Wood. Myer led the Falcons' attack through the middle of the field, advancing to 30 yards out before dropping a short touch to Wood. Touching the ball once as he crossed over the 18-yard line, Woods gave a hard strike with his right foot to slice the ball into the left side of the goal for the score.
The goal set off an eruption from the near 3,000 fans in attendance.
Just moments later, the Falcons would give the crowd more to cheer about—another goal as they took a 2-0 lead. Bryant was the assist man again, this time sending a corner kick on the ground and into the middle of the box. There, Squire put a quick strike on the ball to send it past a diving Polk.
In outshooting the Scots 18-3 in the first half, Messiah would take their 2-0 lead into the intermission. Less than 10 minutes into the second half, the Falcons'
Sheldon Myer would put the home team up 3-0. Myer followed up a shot by junior
Brian Ramirez, with Ramirez' shot being saved and fumbled by Polk in front of the net.
For the game, Messiah took 33 shots to six for the Scots. They also attempted 13 corner kicks–12 more than the visitors. Polk made 10 saves in goal, with sophomore
Brandon West making five saves for Messiah.
The Falcons will take little time to rest after the win, as they will host No. 8 Oneonta State on Shoemaker Field on Saturday, September 1, at 6:00 p.m.
