XML Box Score Baltimore, MD – No. 8 Messiah College scored twice in the opening six minutes against No. 5 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday and held on for a narrow 2-1 win over their rivals from Maryland. The win moved the Falcons to 2-0 on the season while the Blue Jays fell to 2-1.
Messiah found some fortune at the start as a congested play in front of the Blue Jays' goal led to an own goal against the hosts in just the fourth minute of play. Two minutes later a free kick from the left touch line by
Kayla Deckert was headed in near post by
Marisa Weaver. The tally, Weaver's first on the year, gave Messiah a sudden 2-0 advantage.
"I thought in the first-half we played well overall," Messiah head coach
Scott Frey said. "To look at halftime and see that we were up 2-0, that was interesting considering one of the goals was off a mess in the box."
The teams combined for just five shots in the first-half, with each team attempting four corners. In the second-half the Blue Jays outshot Messiah 8-4 in their effort to even the score.
"It felt like we were under a lot of pressure in the second-half," Frey said. "But our backs battled. Really, the whole group battled. Our work rate was great."
Audra Larson collected all four of her saves in the second-half, and
Kayla Deckert cleared a shot off the line midway through the frame to save a goal for the visitors. Messiah did well enough to keep pressure in their attack, forcing Hopkins keeper Clara Aranguren to collect two saves of her own in the frame.
"We had some moments in the second-half, but (Johns Hopkins) was very good on their end," Frey said. "I think that's one of the best team's they have in recent years."
Senior forward Hannah Kronick finally cut into the deficit for Hopkins in the 75th minute as she put through the second of two attempts in the box after a Blue Jays' corner kick. Nevertheless, Messiah managed to hold their lead to the end—including turning away a final corner kick by Hopkins with just thirty seconds to play.
"This was a 'grow up' game for us," Frey said, commenting on his team's early season maturation. "This was a game that was really contested from start to finish, and I'm really proud of our players for battling the way we did."
The loss dropped Hopkins to 2-1. Messiah moved to 2-0 and will next play on Saturday when they host No. 24 William Smith at Shoemaker Field.
