Messiah University

Postgame Interviews

GRANTHAM, Pa. - Carissa Gehman scored with just under eight minutes to play to break a 2-2 tie and give No. 1 Messiah field hockey a 3-2 win over Washington & Lee University in the Second Round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Falcons advance to the Third Round to face No. 11 Trinity College, who knocked off No. 6 Salisbury University 2-1 in overtime in the other Second Round game this afternoon.
 
The Falcons were down 2-1 at the half before Taylor Holt scored her second goal of the game to knot the score at two apiece. Messiah outshot Washington & Lee 44-2 (19-2 on goal) in the game.
 
Generals Start Strong
Around the 12-minute mark, the Falcons were on their heels in a dangerous set with a restart from deep in their defensive left corner. An errant pass from Shayna Landis was intercepted by Lauren Paolano in the middle of the circle, and Paolano took advantage of the golden opportunity by beating Shelby Landes to the near post. It was the first time that the Falcons had trailed in a game since Sept. 9, when they fell behind 1-0 early to Salisbury coming back with a 2-1 overtime victory.
 
The lead was short-lived though, as just two minutes later Carissa Gehman found Taylor Holt with a hard centering pass across the circle to the left post for a tap-in goal. With the score tied at one, the Falcons rattled off six shots over the next ten minutes, four of which were saved by General goalie Ariyel Yavalar. However, at the 29:09 mark, Paolano found the back of the cage off a penalty corner for her second score of the game, giving Washington & Lee a 2-1 lead that would hold up until halftime.
 
No Time To Waste
The Falcons came out to start the second-half with a vengeance, scoring on their second shot of the half just two minutes after the break. Kristin Donohue sent a hard ball towards the cage from the far side that got deflected and seemed to stop just in front of the goal line. It was a race to the ball between Holt and Yavalar, and Holt managed to get her stick on it just in time to tip in her second goal of the contest and tie up the game at two.
 
The Falcons peppered Yavalar over the next 25 minutes, firing 19 shots, but were unable to find the cage. In the half, Messiah outshot Washington & Lee 27-0 and Yavalar recorded nine of her 16 saves.
 
Gehman Gets It Done
Falcon star Carissa Gehman record 25 total shots in the contest, but it was not until her 22nd of the game that she finally pushed a goal across. In the 63rd minute, the senior picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and knocked it home to break the tie and put the Falcons up for the first time in the contest. It was her 29th goal of the season, and coupled with her assist on the first goal, she has now moved into second-place in the Messiah record books with 228 career points.
 
The Falcons kept the ball on their attacking end for the remainder of the game, keeping the pressure on the Generals all the way up to the final buzzer. The win improves Messiah's record to 20-0 on the year and extends their win streak to 42.
 
Next Up
Messiah will host No. 11 Trinity in the Third Round on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. on Anderson Field.