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Grantham, PA - The Messiah College Falcons didn't seem to forget who sent them packing from the NCAA tournament last season.
"It was really hard to overlook the fact that
(Ursinus) eliminated us from the NCAAs last year," coach
Brooke Good said after the game. "We know what they bring to the table every game so we wanted to come out of the gates early and keep the pressure on them."
That's exactly what they did.
The Falcons exacted revenge early and often in Wednesday night's home opening bout against the no. 6 ranked Ursinus College Bears. Behind
Juliana Hershey's one-goal, one-assist performance, the Falcons scored goals in the 8th, 9th, and 30th minutes en route to a 4-0 win over the visiting Bears.
Molly Gebrosky turned in another solid effort in goal for the Falcons, keeping the Bears off the board to record her first shutout of the season. Junior
Brooke Sands tallied her third goal of the season, and sophomore
Celina Nissley added another for her second.
The Falcons turned up the heat early on the Bears- keeping the ball in their offensive zone for much of the game's first half.
The Falcons' first penalty corner came just :53 seconds after the opening whistle, which resulted in a shot and save from Ursinus' goalie, Paige McElhenny. Sands gathered a loose ball and fired a shot from the top of the circle that was deflected wide of the net not a minute later, establishing the tempo of the game these Falcons were going to play.
"We knew this was going to be a big game for us tonight," senior captain and returning All-American
Juliana Hershey said. "We really wanted to come out fast and to come out hard, leaving everything we had on the field."
Hershey and her teammates showed they were going to play with that attitude for much of the game. The Falcons had opportunity after opportunity throughout the early stages of the game, yeilding results in just the 8th minute of the contest. A shot from the Falcons'
Emily Hursh was sent towards the cage and deflected towards the left side of the cage, banking in off the post for her first of the season.
Hershey, a returning All-American from a year ago, proved she could still make plays for the Falcons, as she created an opportunity off a steal for junior
Brooke Sands. Hershey's pass found Sands' stick, who then made two shifty moves around a Bears' defender and goalie, finishing a back-handed shot for 2-0 lead just 8:50 into the game.
The Bears' first chance of the game didn't come until the 20th minute. A streaking Ursinus forward managed a shot towards the cage that goalie
Molly Gebrosky staved off with a boot to the corner. The Messiah defense would hold strong throughout the remainder of the contest, surrendering only five total shots from the visitors, two that made their way to Gebrosky.
Hershey would add some insurance for the Falcons late in the first half. A shot from senior
Kelly Martin from outside the circle deflected through a barrage of sticks and bounced off the goal post. Hershey found herself in the right place at the right time, slapping the rebound into the back of the cage in the 30th minute, sending the Falcons and Bears headed into the break with a score of 3-0.
The second half saw opportunities come and go for both squads. Ursinus' best chance in the game came just 4:53 into the second half- the Bears' Abby Wood sent a blistering shot towards the cage which Gebrosky staved off with a blocker. The Falcons added a fourth goal on the turn around opportunity, one that Hershey again had her hand in. This time Hershey found a streakiing
Celina Nissley inside the top of the circle, who buried a shot past the right blocker of the Ursinus keeper.
"I was impressed with the enthusiam we came out with tonight," coach Good said. "It was great to see our leaders come out here and execute. I couldn't ask for anything more from them tonight."
The Ursinus College Bears dropped to 1-1 on the season after the loss heading into their next game, one week from today.
With the win, the Falcons improved to 2-0 on the season heading into Saturday's matchup against the 18th ranked Rowan University Profs. The opening whistle is slated for 1:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com for live stats and live video from Anderson Field.
