XML Box Score Fredericksburg, VA – In a battle of two teams with surprising—and identical—2-2 records, Messiah College defeated the University of Mary Washington 2-1 on Wednesday.
The Falcons and Eagles combined for just three losses last season, but each team had been dealing with a relatively slow start to 2013. Messiah did their best to right the ship on the Eagles' home field, scoring twice in a 55-second span midway through the first half.
Emily Schneider and
Macaulay Soto each tallied in that brilliant stretch as Messiah moved to 3-2 on the year.
Messiah owned territory over Mary Washington for much of the afternoon and outshot their hosts 20 to five. Twelve of those attempts came in the first-half, with the Falcons breaking through against keeper Alyssa Goodwin in the 17th and 18th minutes, respectively. Schneider took a pass from defender
Ali Rogers to tally her first goal of the year and put Messiah on the board and then, just 55 seconds later,
Macaulay Soto added her first goal of the year off an assist from
Nikki Elsaesser.
The two scores by the Falcons made it 24 unanswered goals over the Eagles dating back to the 2005 season; Messiah entered Wednesday with a five-game win streak over Mary Washington after falling 1-0 to the Eagles in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately for Messiah, that goals streak would end at 24 as Lizzie Weast put the Eagles on the board in a 26th minute. Her goal, assisted by Excy Herrara, cut the Eagles' deficit in half.
The score remained 2-1 through the intermission, with Messiah continuing to pressure the Eagles' defense after the break.
Alicia Frey almost capitalized in the first minute of the second-half, with her shot from 24 yards out on the right side curving a bit wide of the left post. Elsaesser followed in the next few minutes with two dangerous attempts: the first a shot from 20 yards that went just over the crossbar; the second an attack into the box that resulted in consecutive shots by Soto (blocked by defender) and Schneider (saved by Goodwin).
Though Messiah did collect another eight shots in the second-half, Mary Washington also did their best to try and even the score. In the 65th minute Sam Lockley was played through the Falcons' defense on the right side but was unable to get off a shot as
Audra Larson raced off her line for a sliding grab.
Six minutes later, Erin Reynolds found a similar opportunity against the run of play on the left side, with Larson again sliding out to clear the ball before a shot was taken.
In the final minutes, Messiah continued to control possession and, while unable to capitalize on a few excellent opportunities, secured the 2-1 win.
With the decision, Messiah will look to put together a win streak when they host Salisbury University on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7:00 p.m.
