ANNVILLE, Pa. – Goals bookended a No. 2 Messiah field hockey victory over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Wednesday evening. Messiah started the match with a goal in the opening minute off the stick of Kris Levesque before being held scoreless on their next 38 shots. It took 70 minutes, but Messiah got back on the board 1:09 into overtime with a strike from Megan Wetzel that was the difference in the 2-1 victory.
 
During the 70-minute stretch without a Messiah goal, the Dutchmen got on the board thanks to a strong start to the second-half. Lebanon Valley earned a penalty corner and attempted three-straight shots in a 45-second span, eventually finding the back of the cage on a shot from Cecile Kat in the 40th minute of the match.
 
Messiah took 40 shots in the match, marking the most in a contest since a 44-shot performance against Washington & Lee in the NCAA Tournament last season (Nov. 11, 2017). The Falcons scored on their first and final shots of the match.
 
With the win, Messiah moves to 14-0 on the season and improves to 5-0 in the conference while also locking up a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.

Fast Start
While the Falcons have gotten off to fast starts throughout the season with frequent goals in the opening minutes of matches, Messiah got off to their fastest start of the year with a goal just 59 seconds into play. On the first shot of the match for either side, Megan Wetzel slotted a pass from the right-side to Kris Levesque for a quick shot into the left-side of the cage.

The goal for Levesque marks the fifth of the season for the sophomore. She has now scored in five of the last six matches for the Falcons dating back to Sept. 29 vs. Stevenson.

Relentless Pressure
Following the early tally by the Falcons, Messiah continued to pressure for the remainder of the half with 23 more shots in the remaining 34 minutes of the half. The pressure forced the Lebanon Valley keepers to make 14 saves in the half. Midway through the storm of pressure, the Dutchmen swapped goalies with Victoria ByDeley and Nikki Willi splitting time between between the pipes.

With just over five minutes remaining in the half, the Dutchmen had an opportunity to level the match with a bloked shot and a penalty corner, but Messiah kept the 1-0 lead into the half.

Dutchmen Equalizer
Following the break, Kirs Levesque made a bid for her second goal of the night but a defensive save by Lebanon Valley's Tasia Dennis kept it a one-goal game early in the half. Less than five minutes into the second-half the Dutchmen took advantage of their second scoring opportunity in the match when they earned a penalty corner. After a blocked shot and a save by Shelby Landes, the Dutchman's Cecile Kat connected to level the match off an assist from Rachel Kagarise.

With the score now tied 1-1, Messiah owned possession for the remainder of regulation, taking the final 14 shots earning the last seven penalty corners in the half. Despite the heavy pressure, the Dutchmen hung tough and forced overtime with the score still tied 1-1.

Breaking Through
After being held scoreless since Kris Levesque's goal less than a minute into the game, the Falcons finally broke through just over a minute into overtime. Kezia Loht sent a pass from the right to Megan Wetzel in the circle for a one-time rip into the back of the cage for the 2-1 Messiah victory.

The tally was the ninth goal of the season for the Falcons' leading goal scorer, Wetzel.

What's Up Next
With the 2-1 overtime victory, Messiah moves to 3-0 in overtime matches this season. The Falcons move to 14-0 overall and remain perfect in the conference with a 5-0 record. The victory also clinches the Falcons a spot in the MAC Commonwealth tournament and they will face the Arcadia Knights on Saturday in a match that will have conference tournament seeding implications. The Knights also enter the match with a 5-0 record in the conference, so first-place int he conference will be on the line on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on homecoming.