XML Box Score Grantham, PA – In a game with a few good storylines, the best line for Falcons' fans was surely the score. Messiah College took a 2-0 decision over Alma College on Friday, giving head coach
Scott Frey a win over his former team.
Kyele Bridel and
Nikki Elsaesser each scored for the Falcons, with Bridel's goal breaking a scoreless tie in the 79th minute of play. The sophomore corralled a loose ball just inside the right corner of the 18 and put a left-footed strike to the far side of the net. Her shot curved just out of the reach Alma keeper Julie Debus and inside the post for a 1-0 advantage.
Elsaesser completed the scoring for Messiah in the final minute of action when, after taking a pass up the field from
Marisa DeMonte, found herself one-on-one with Debus on the right side. A quick touch left put her past the keeper for an easy tap over the goal line.
Messiah's late output resulted from a determined offensive effort; the Falcons launched 15 shots in the second half while limiting the Scots to one shot over the same timeframe. In total, Messiah took 19 shots to Alma's three, and also took all five of the game's corners—all of which came after the intermission.
For Frey, the win came over a college—and coach—to which he is closely tied; Frey began his collegiate coaching career with the Scots' men's soccer team, and coached current women's head coach Jeff Hosler. Frey led Alma to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four berth in his time at Alma, where Hosler was an All-Conference and All-Region player.
On Friday, Hosler was hoping to upset his tutor and, for most of the game, appeared to be leading his team to no less than a tie. Playing for much of the night with a defensive focus, Alma limited Messiah's opportunities in the first half and kept the host's chances to a minimum. At the intermission, the teams combined for just six shots, with Alma consistently collapsing on the Falcons their attacking third.
In the second half, Messiah's possession game began to wear down Alma's midfield and defense, with a few point-blank shots getting thwarted at the last moment by Debus and others. Bridel was in the middle of more than one of the Falcons' best chances; she had two shots saved on one play in the 69th minute and then, moments later, saw her header off
Alicia Frey's free kick hit off the left post.
Bridel finally did put Messiah up 1-0 on her strike in the 79th minute, simultaneously setting off a celebration from her teammates and forcing the Scots' to press up the field. Elsaesser's goal soon resulted to put an exclamation point on the win.
Messiah moves to 1-0 with the decision while Alma falls to 0-1. The Falcons will host the University of Scranton tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. The Royals lost to Franklin & Marshall on Friday in double overtime.
