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Grantham, PA - The 10th-ranked Messiah College Falcons couldn't seem to find an answer for the high powered TCNJ Lions' offense Saturday, giving up a season-high 16 goals en route to a 16-10 loss against the nation's sixth-ranked team.
Despite the loss, the Falcons (1-3) received a valiant effort from
Cecilia Kjellman. The senior finished with a team-leading five goals, pushing her season total to seven.
Claire Stikeleather added two goals of her own for the Falcons and
Taylor Phillips made 12 stops in the cage.
“[Cecilia] played a great game today for us, maybe her best this year so far,” head coach
Heather Greer said of her senior midfielder. “She used her speed to create opportunities on the offensive end in transition, which is something that we've needed.”
TCNJ (3-0) entered Saturday's matchup averaging 18 goals per game over their first two contests, due largely in part to leading scorer Alex Spark's 13 goals in that same span. Spark finished Saturday's contest with a modest three goals and one assist.
“I thought we did a great job, especially early on, guarding their top girl,” Greer said of her team's ability to keep Spark contained. “She didn't have many opportunities to make plays which is a credit to our girls.”
The Lions did, however, find offense elsewhere. Jen Garavente found twine five times on the afternoon to lead TCNJ offensively. In goal, Kelsey Zinck made 10 stops for the Lions.
Kjellman opened the game with two goals just 11 seconds apart, helping the Falcons jump out quickly to a two-goal lead just five minutes into the contest. The Lions' Lauren Pigott would get the visitors on the board with her first of four tallies on the afternoon just 32 seconds later to cut the Falcons lead in half.
Messiah and TCNJ would trade goals twice over the next five minutes of play to push the score to 4-3 with nearly 15 minutes elapsed in the first half. The Lions' third goal, from the stick of Garavente, proved to be the first in a string of seven straight goals for the Lions which turned a 4-2 Falcons lead into a 9-4 deficit just minutes into the second half.
The string of goals included three tallies on free position shots by the Lions in addition to a player-up tally and one while the Lions were down a player. In all, the Lions were awarded 12 free position shots to the Falcons' five.
Despite the late deficit of as much as eight goals, the Falcons wouldn't give in. Kjellman,
Kiersten McGreer, and
Claire Stikeleather each tallied in a 1:58 span to pull the Falcons within five at 15-10 with ten minutes remaining, but the TCNJ offense controlled possession for much of the remainder of the contest.
“We never gave up, which is something we can take away from this game,” Greer said reflecting on her team's relentless play. “The other thing we have to realize is that we've never played a schedule like this before, and to be an elite program like we want to be you have to play an elite schedule.”
Greer alluded to the fact that the Falcons are in a three game losing slide, their longest losing streak since opening the 2010 season with back-to-back losses. The Falcons are amidst perhaps one of the most difficult opening stretches of schedule in the country. Having already faced the fourth and sixth-ranked teams in Gettysburg and TCNJ, the Falcons are still yet to play 18th-ranked Mary Washington, 9th-ranked Franklin & Marshall, and 11th-ranked York College before getting into the heart of conference play.
“We are going to continue to develop during practice and get better through these games,” Greer concluded. “We are looking forward to learning from today's game and ultimately getting a shot at Mary Washington on Wednesday.”
The opening draw for Wednesday's (3/13) contest against the Eagles of Mary Washington is slated for 4:00 p.m. in Fredericksburg, Va.
WLAX: Falcons Fall at Hands of Lions Gallery
