ROCHESTER, NY -
Nick West completed his third hat trick of the season to lead a second-half comeback for No. 1 Messiah men's soccer over the No. 6 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons by a 3-2 final. The Falcons trailed 1-0 at the half, but West and company netted three goals in the second-half to advance to Sunday's Elite Eight match against the winner of No. 9 Rochester vs. Eastern at 1:00 p.m. in Rochester.
The Red Dragons did not go down quietly in Saturday's match. After West tallied three goals in in a 16-minute span from the 70th minute to the 86th minute, the Red Dragons turned up the pressure. Just a minute after West gave Messiah a 3-1 lead with a penalty kick, Cortland found a transition tally from Sam Fuller into an open net after Miguel Tunas dropped a pass off into the middle of the box. A number of chances for the Red Dragons followed in the final moments, but Messiah weathered the storm and earned the 3-2 victory.
With his hat trick on Saturday, West takes back over the National lead in goals scored with 29 tallies on the season. In three NCAA Tournament games, West has five goals and two assists.
Messiah will be making their 18th appearance in the Sectional Final in program history on Sunday afternoon.
First-Half Deficit
The start of Saturday's match started off with chances for both the Red Dragons and Falcons in the first six minutes. SUNY Cortland's Miguel Tunas sent a shot in from the right-side in the fourth minute, but it was blocked by the Messiah defense. Then just two minutes later,
Nick West unleashed a shot from the left-side of the top of the box toward to back post. His shot beat the keeper, but skipped off the post and was cleared away by the Red Dragons.
The match remained scoreless until the 31st minute when the Red Dragons struck for the lone tally of the first-half. After a strong tackle in the midfield, Migell Ormsby carried possession to the right wing before slotting a short cross to Jake Keller at the top of the box. His one-time shot was driven low, into the left-side of the goal for his 19th score of the season and the 1-0 lead for the Red Dragons.
Messiah had an excellent opportunity to tie the score in the 35th minute off a corner kick that found the head of
Micah Fitz in the box. Fitz struck the cross well, but sent the redirection wide of the right-post and the deficit remained 1-0 heading to the half.
West Takes Control
The Falcons began to settle in and control more possession in the early portions of the second-half as they looked for the equalizer. After a handful of dangerous moments in the first 25 minutes of the second-half, the Falcons broke through in the 70th minute off the head of
Nick West. A cross sent in from the right wing by
Jonathan Groothoff found West in the box for a strong header. West hammered the header past the keeper for the equalizer and his 27th goal of the season.
Just two minutes after connecting on the header, West delivered one of his more impressive tallies of the season with a free kick from 29 yards out. Above the box on the right-side, West sent his delivery toward the back, left-post. His delivery went over the wall before ducking under the crossbar to give the Falcons a 2-1 advantage in the 72nd minute.
West's second tally of the day gave him back the national lead in goals scored with 28, but he was not done scoring on the day. In the 86th minute, a handball in the box by the Red Dragons gave Messiah a penalty kick and West calmly stepped up and delivered his third goal on the afternoon, inking his name in the Messiah record books in a number of categories while also putting Messiah up 3-1 with four minutes remaining.
West now stands alone in second-place on the single-season scoring record for Messiah with 29 goals, just two tallies behind Adrian Oostdyke (1973, 31 goals) for the program record. West also scored his third hat trick of the season, making him the first Falcon since Jim Blouch in 1981 with three or more hat tricks in a single season.
Late Flurry
After falling into a 3-1 hole with four-plus minutes remaining, the Red Dragons quickly went on the attack, cutting the deficit to one at 3-2 in the 87th minute off the foot of Miguel Tunas. After SUNY Cortland cut the lead to one they continued to pressure with three shots in the final three minutes, but Messiah hung tough through the danger and earned the 3-2 victory.
Moving On
With the victory, Messiah advances to Sunday afternoon's Sectional Final with a trip to the National Semifinal on the line. The Falcons will take the field in Rochester against the winner of Saturday afternoon's Rochester Yellowjackets vs. Eastern Eagles match at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Messiah is looking to advance to their 16th Final Four in program history.
