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Brian Ramirez gave Messiah a 1-0 lead in just the eighth minute of action and Messiah College went on to defeat Williams College 4-0 in the NCAA Division III National Semifinal. Four different players—Ramirez,
Jeremy Payne,
Carter Robbins, and
Danny Brandt— scored for Messiah on 25 total shots.
The win moves the defending National Champion Falcons into their 10th National Final in program history, and also moves their 2013 record to 23-1-1.
In the first minutes of the game Williams pushed forward with pressure in hopes of sneaking an early score. Their attack did produce two solid opportunities from Matt Muralles in the third and sixth minutes, both shots from 25 yards out in the midfield that sailed narrowly over the Messiah crossbar.
After escaping the Ephs' early chances the Falcons settled in and quickly found an early score of their own. With the clock turning to the ninth minute
Brian Ramirez took a square pass across the 18 from
Mike Kovach and looked poised to fire a shot with his right foot. He turned down the shot, touching past his defender and to the left for a hard strike that deflected off a Williams' defender; the shot arched high and to the goal where keeper Peter Murrell backpedaled to the goal in hopes of grabbing possession. But by the time the ball came down it was already crossing the mouth of the frame and into the right side.
The score for the Falcons gave them a quick 1-0 lead—the third time in five NCAA Tournament games this season that they've score a goal in the first 10 minutes of play.
"We have a lot of respect for Williams, and I wasn't quite sure what this game would look like," Messiah head coach
Brad McCarty said. "I thought it was evident they wanted to compact the midfield, and it was difficult at times. We had to weather the storm early and we did."
Messiah continued to hold territory and apply pressure over the Ephs, nearly scoring again in the 20th minute on an open shot from 15 yards out on the left side by
Jack Thompson. Five minutes later they almost tallied off a beautiful one-two combination from
Sheldon Myer and
Jeremy Payne. Myer's resulting shot was deflected over the end line, however, with the ensuing corner soon cleared away.
The missed chances were indicative of the Falcons' strong play, and before long they added a second goal off a spectacular header from
Jeremy Payne. The score put Messiah up 2-0 in the 29th minute.
As impressive as Payne's goal was,
Mike Kovach's pull-through at midfield to start action may have been even more impressive. He methodically pushed down the right sideline and cut into the box for the serve through two defenders and to the back post where Payne's header went beyond the dive of Morrell.
Messiah came close to adding another goal in the half but settled for a 2-0 lead through the intermission. They also led Williams 15-5 in shots at the half, with
Brandon West not forced to collect a save.
In the second-half Williams again presented early pressure but could not produce a decent look at the goal. Messiah, though, continued to counter quickly and create opportunities to increase their lead. Ramirez nearly tallied for his second goal in the 50th minute after winning a ball in the midfield and pressing forward for a shot from 23 yards out. The offering was blocked on the 18 and rolled back to him for a left-footed shot from just above the box that went wide of the left post.
Murrell, to his credit, led his defense well and did all he could to stifle the Falcons' attempts. In the 55th minute he collected a great low hand save near the right post on a close shot from
Sheldon Myer. It was one of seven saves on the night for the Ephs' keeper.
Despite Murrell's efforts and those of his teammates, they could not fully contain the Falcons' attack. In the 59th minute Payne pushed past his defender in the open midfield before launching a shot at Murrell from inside the 18. Murrell did get a save, but off the ensuring corner Robbins put a sharp header on an in-swinger from Ramirez to give the Falcons a commanding 3-0 lead.
Four minutes later, Messiah went up 4-0 off the foot for
Danny Brandt. This time it was
Joshua Wood who took a shot on Murrell against the run of play; the shot was also saved, but it bounded to the right side where Brandt ran onto a one-touch strike from 23 yards out—a booming shot that went on a line inside the right post.
The goal completed the scoring as Messiah went on to outshoot the Ephs 25-11, win 4-0, and qualify for the National Final.
"(Williams) has some dynamic players up front," McCarty said, commenting on the Falcons' stellar defensive work, which limited the Ephs to just one shot on goal. "We're fortunate to have outside backs that can play both ways, and Carter and Matt (Kyne) are two guys that play in the air and be physical and fast, too. They did well tonight."
Messiah will play on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 p.m. EST) against Rutgers-Camden in the National Final. The game will be Rutgers' first appearance in the championship—earned with a 3-2, overtime win over Loras College.
The match-up will be Messiah's first match-up with the Scarlet Raptors since 1974 when they were known as Rutgers-South Jersey.
"Rutgers has a lot of talent, and they have guys have scored a lot of goals," McCarty said. "We have a lot respect for teams from the NJAC—they're tough and they go hard all the time, and we expect Rutgers to be very similar. We were fortunate to get some substitutes in tonight and we'll be ready for tomorrow. I don't think any player from either team will be tired tomorrow."
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