XML Box Score by Phil Naegely, GoMessiah.com reporter

Grantham, PA - Four days after losing to Salisbury University 3-0, Messiah College returned to Anderson Field. The trip home proved beneficial, as a high-pressure Falcons squad scored three goals to defeat Haverford College 3-0.
 
From the opening whistle, the Falcons shifted into fourth gear and quickly attacked the Fords' defense. At the 3:51 mark, Rachel Cox's first shot off the post was the start of Messiah's shooting dominance as Messiah was on their way to outshooting the visitors 10-0 before halftime.
 
Fast forward to Cox's third shot—Messiah's six shot overall— at the 21:16 mark, when the Falcons played the ball into the circle and ended up causing havoc. Haverford's defense failed to clear the ball out of danger and Rachel Cox tipped it in to put Messiah up 1-0.
 
Despite dominating much of the game's first half, Messiah couldn't find a second goal heading into the intermission—though they did come surprisingly close in a full-field attack in the final seven seconds.
 
"We dominated in the first half, but the game's scoreline did not reflect the play on the field," said Coach Brooke Good looking back at game's first half.
 
Messiah's shooting attempts would continue into the second-half. Before Haverford found their first shot at the 42:47 mark from Bryn Bissey, Messiah would register three more attempts. Additionally, Messiah earned two penalty corner opportunities exactly a minute apart, 40:48 and 41:48 marks, but both shot attempts were blocked by Haverford's tenacious defense.
 
After Bissey's shot, Messiah moved down field looking for their second goal. Celina Nissley found an opening in the middle of the circle and scored her season's third goal 43:29 into the game. Brooke Sands would add a third Falcons goal with a little under 10 minutes to play (65:09 mark), and put the game away for good.
 
"We came into this game ready to play two good halves of hockey. In the end, we did that tonight and showed passion and pressure out there from the opening whistle," said Coach Good.
 
Messiah improves to 4-1, while Haverford falls to 2-3. The Falcons next game will be on Sept. 25 at Ursinus College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. After a non-conference match-up against Ursinus, Messiah returns home for the start of conference play against Alvernia University for a 1:00 p.m. game on Sept. 28.

Click on the gallery to see higher resolution.

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video