FREDERICKSBURG, Va. –
Megan Wetzel and
Hannah Palm tallied first-half goals and
Shelby Landes made a diving save on a penalty stroke late in the match to lead No. 2 Messiah field to a 2-0 victory over the No. 11 Christopher Newport Captains on Wednesday afternoon. The Falcons outshot the Captains 21-4 in the match, but needed a pair of late saves from Landes to hold on for their fifth shutout of the season.
Megan Wetzel scored her seventh goal of the season off a penalty corner 11:37 into the match to get the Falcons on the board.
Hannah Palm doubled the Falcons' lead with a redirection on a
Josie Weaver centering pass with just under 11 minutes left in the first-half to give Messiah a 2-0 lead heading to the half.
While the lead would hold for the remainder of the match,
Shelby Landes was tested twice between the pipes in the final six minutes of the match. The senior turned both attempts away, including a diving save on a penalty stroke with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to keep the shutout in tack.
With the 2-0 victory, Messiah improves their win-streak to 12 games to start the season. The Falcons are next in action on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Alvernia.
Early Advantage
The Falcons opened the scoring of the contest with a tally off a penalty corner in the 12th minute of the game.
Casie Stief sent the penalty corner to the top of the circle for the Falcons' leading goal scorer,
Megan Wetzel, who blasted her eighth goal of the season to give Messiah the 1-0 lead.
Following the first goal of the match, both teams had chances with the Captains' first shot of the match in the 12th minute, but the attempt was blocked by the Falcons' defense. Messiah had chances with shots from Wetzel,
Kristen Musser,
Josie Weaver, and
Jennie Young all being blocked or turned away. In the 25th minute, Weaver sent a ball toward the cage that
Hannah Palm deflected past the goalie for her sixth tally of the season.
Palm's goal gave Messiah a 2-0 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the first-half.
The Messiah lead held for the remainder of the half and the Falcons took the two-goal lead into the break. In the first 35 minutes, the Falcons outshot the Captains 12-2 with
Kezia Loht leading all players with three attempts.
Controlling the Pace
Messiah controlled the pace of the second-half for the vast majority of the period, attempting the first nine shots of the second-half. All of those nine attempts came in the first 15 minutes of the period. Olivia Davis, Christopher Newport's goalie, made three saves in the half and
Hannah Palm had a shot turned away thanks to a defensive save from Kennedy Johnson.
Late Chances for the Captains
After taking just two shots in the first 63 minutes, Christopher Newport had two quality chances in the final six minutes of the match. First it was Jackie Kotoriy sending a shot on goal, but
Shelby Landes stepped up for the save keeping it a 2-0 Messiah lead. That save from Landes would loom large as Christopher Newport was awarded a penalty stroke with less than three minutes later.
Once again it was Jackie Kotoriy that tested Landes. The sophomore Kotoriy's penalty stroke was turned away thanks to a diving stop by Landes. It was the first penalty stroke that Landes had faced this season, but in her career, the senior has now made five saves on the six penalty stokes that she has faced.
Thanks in large part to the two late saves from Landes, Messiah earned their fifth shutout of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Captains.
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves to 12-0 on the season and will next take the field on Friday when they travel to Reading to take on the Alvernia Golden Wolves at 4:30 p.m. The Golden Wolves enter Friday's match with a 7-6 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the MAC Commonwealth.
