Box Score
Annville, PA – Lebanon Valley jumped out to a 6-0 lead through the first quarter and a half that proved to be too much for the visiting Falcons in Monday's opening round of the Commonwealth Conference playoffs.
The Falcons' offense had a rough go for the majority of the contest as the Lebanon Valley defensemen tightened up and kept the Falcons off the board for much of the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen offense and leading scorer Malik Pedroso found plenty of offense on the opposite end of the field.
Pedroso would finish with a game-high four goals on the afternoon.
Kevan Schellenberg had a hand in all three goals for the Falcons, tallying twice and assisting on another.
Kyle Sproles picked up the third and final goal for the Falcons. Goalkeepers
Brooks Arnold and
Jon Weimer combined for 14 saves in the loss.
A bright spot for the Falcons came at the faceoff X where
Jordan Smith went a perfect 6-6 in his faceoff attempts.
The Falcons, who found themselves in the playoffs via a two-game win streak to close the season, couldn't keeps the wheels turning from their late game surge and struggled to find the cage in the early going. Despite two solid possessions and multiple opportunities to put the ball away the Falcons came up empty-handed and were looking at a 2-0 deficit after one quarter.
Pedroso and the Dutchmen continued to get their chances and would expand the lead to six before Schellenberg would find the net with 3:27 remaining in the quarter.
The senior attackman took a pass from Sproles on the right wing, made a hard move around two defenders and beat goalie Mike Moll for the score.
The Dutchmen would answer Schellenberg's tally before the halftime buzzer rang out to send the teams into the break at 7-1 in favor of the hosts.
The second half played much of the same tune for the Dutchmen as they would put five more tallies on the board, while holding the Falcons' offense to just two for the final score of 12-3. Mike Moll played a big part in the Dutchmen's defensive day as he collected 12 saves for the win.
The loss resultantly ends the Falcons' 2013 season.
“Our guys played their hearts out this season,” head coach Geof Weisenborn reflected. “This is a great group of guys and I am glad they could get to this point in the season.
“Our goal was to win the Commonwealth Championship this season, as it is every year, but unfortunately we fell short,” Weisenborn added. “I am proud of these guys, fighting the way they did to get back into the mix and be in the position we were in today.”
Messiah finishes the season with a record of 5-9 overall and 4-4 in Commonwealth regular season. The Dutchmen improved to 11-5.
The win pushes the fourth-seeded Dutchmen into the conference semifinals and sends them on their way to Owings Mills, Md., to take on the nationally-ranked, top-seeded Stevenson Mustangs.
