GRANTHAM, Pa. - Carissa Gehman scored three times and No. 1 Messiah field hockey raced out to a four-goal halftime lead en route to a 7-4 win over York College in the 2017 season opener. Logan Ryan also added two goals to aid the Falcon effort.
 
Messiah held possession for most of the game, as they outshot the Spartans 21-6 (15-5 on goal). Messiah also took 11 penalty corners compared to five for York.
 
Gehman Gets it Going Early
The Falcons put the pressure on right away, stealing the ball from York and taking it deep into Spartan territory. After the ball came loose and was knocked around the circle, Gehman got her stick to it and flicked it into the cage for the first Falcon goal of the season just 27 seconds into the opener.
 
Just five minutes later, Gehman brought the ball down the left side and made a beautiful spin move around a defender to free up space before sending a low liner past the goalie for her second tally.
 
Falcons Finish First-Half Strong
After a York goal at the 11:10 mark, Messiah scored three times before the buzzer sounded to end the first period. Off a penalty corner, Logan Ryan knocked a Kezia Loht loft shot out of the air and into the cage to put the Falcons up 3-1.
 
Kaylor Rosenberry and Gehman would both score before the break to give Messiah a 5-1 lead. The hat trick for Gehman was the senior's fifth of her career. Fifteen of Messiah's 21 shots came in the opening period.
 
Spartans Don't Go Away Quietly
York came out very strong in the second-half, outscoring Messiah 3-1 over the first 28 minutes to cut the Messiah lead to 6-4 at the 62:28 mark.
 
However, Messiah clamped down on defense the rest of the way and would get some insurance from Logan Ryan with five minutes left. She took a sharp pass from Taylor Holt across the circle and tapped it in from the left side for her second goal of the game, and the Falcons went on to win by a 7-4 score.
 
Next Up
Messiah takes to the road for their next game on Wednesday as they travel to Ursinus College, who was ranked No. 7 in the NFHCA preseason poll. The game is slated to start at 7:00 p.m.