Grantham, PA – Annika Johnsen's free-position shot with 16 seconds to play proved to be the difference in a thrilling 14-13 win for No. 4 Messiah over No. 14 SUNY Cortland on Sunday afternoon. The win pushed Messiah to 16-2 overall, and they will next play No. 11 York College in the Sweet 16. The loss for the Red Dragons, who have appeared in six-straight Final Fours, ends their season at 14-5.
 
Rally Time
Though Messiah took a three-goal lead early in the second period, the Red Dragons rolled off four-straight scores over a stretch of 15:17 to take a 13-12 lead. They held that advantage until less than three minutes to play, but Ida Ehrhardt delivered a huge game-tying tally with 2:38 left to play. Ehrhardt's goal came off a dodge from the left side that helped her get to the center of the crease for the shot.
 
Despite knotting the score, the Falcons were quickly put on the defensive when Carly Stone won the draw control for Cortland. They held possession for nearly 100 seconds before Lexie Meager—the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year—was fouled on a spin dodge to set up a free-position shot. In a signature moment of the game Alexa Dipeso came up with a huge save for Messiah, scooping up Meager's shot for her 12th save of the afternoon.
 
After a timeout by Messiah, Annika Johnsen found herself with space on a clear and she streaked to the cage and drew a foul. Her free-position shot beat goalie Jaclyn Beshlian to the right side, and Messiah had a 14-13 lead with 16 seconds to play.
 
Kristyn Drake picked up the draw control for Cortland, but the Red Dragons lost possession a moment later and Messiah ran out the clock for the win.
 
Early Response
Long before the Falcons rallied for the thrilling win, they were digging out of an early hole. Cortland tallied the first two goals of the game and, after Stephanie Athens took a draw control straight to cage for a tally, the Red Dragons scored another pair to go up 4-1.
 
From there Messiah scored five unanswered goals, with Athens collecting three more over that streak.
 
Trading Blows
The game moved back-and-forth at the end of the first period, and the Red Dragons appeared poised to take a lead into the break when Makenzie Annable scored with just 25 seconds on the clock. But Ida Ehrhardt picked up one of her game-high eight draw controls to give Messiah possession, and Johnsen took advantage by drawing a foul and finishing a free-position shot with just a second left.
 
At the start of the second-half Messiah scored three-straight times from three different players—Courtney Wagner, Athens, and Johnsen—but Cortland stayed close before they put together their aforementioned five-goal run.
 
By the Numbers
Messiah entered game ranked No. 27 in scoring offense (14.18 goals per game) and Cortland entered No. 32 (13.83) in the same stat, and they delivered this afternoon. It was an even match-up in the box score as well, with Messiah taking just three more shots (36-33) than Cortland, and the Red Dragons putting three more shots on goal (25-22) than the Falcons. The teams also combined for just 20 turnovers in what felt, at times, like a chess match.
 
Annable and Stone each tallied three times for Cortland, and Kristen Ohberg added three assists to her two goals.
 
Messiah was led by the Athens' five goals, with Johnsen scoring three times and Ehrhardt twice. Courtney Wagner added two assists to her single tally. Ehrhardt's eight draw controls tied a career-high from last season.
 
As mentioned, Dipeso collected 12 saves in a brilliant performance between the pipes. Messiah's defense, led by Kendra Herbenar and Brooke Gamble, was terrific as they supported an 11-5 run by Messiah that spanned both periods.
 
Next Up
Messiah will match up with No. 11 York in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, May 20. The site and exact game time is to be determined. The Spartans defeated St. John Fisher this afternoon by a 5-4 score.
 
Fans are encourage to follow GoMessiah.com this week for a full preview of the Falcons' upcoming weekend.