LANCASTER, Pa. - The No. 2 Messiah field hockey team trailed the No. 12 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats 1-0 for a vast majority Wednesday's match. With less than a minute left in regulation,
Hannah Palm scored for the Falcons on a penalty corner to force overtime. Messiah found their golden goal just 29 seconds into the overtime period off the stick of
Megan Wetzel to give the Falcons the 2-1 overtime victory.
With the win, Messiah advances to 8-0 on the season and will next take the field on Saturday when they host the Stevenson Mustangs at 1:00 p.m. on the Anderson Field.
Falling Behind
Despite attempting three shots and earning a pair of penalty corners in the first 10 minutes of the match, Messiah faced their first deficit of the season midway through the opening half. Just over 17 minutes into the half the Diplomats earned their second penalty corner of the match. On the corner, Caitlin Morrissey crossed a ball to Phoebe Wood on the right-side. Wood sent a low shot to the right and beat the Messiah defense for the first goal of the contest.
Continued Pressure
The Falcons called a timeout 24 minutes into the half and following the timeout their pressure increased. In the final 10 minutes of the half, shots by
Casie Stief,
Kristen Musser, and
Jennie Young were all turned away by the Diplomats' goalie Ilianna Santangelo. With the three late saves, Messiah headed to the half trailing 1-0.
Missed Opportunities
In the early portions of the second period, Messiah continued their pressure. Even with Messiah holding the vast majority of possession, the Diplomats' defense held the Falcons to just a few quality looks in the opening minutes of the period.
Messiah did have a great chance in the 50th minute when
Taylor Wiederrecht lofted a backhanded sweep from the left-side of the circle. Her attempt was deemed dangerous and possession was given back to F&M.
With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, and the Falcons in a player-up situation,
Jennie Young took her time and unleashed a raised shot from the right-side. Like Wiederrecht's attempt earlier, her shot was ruled dangerous and the Diplomats cleared the ball out of danger before another opportunity by the Falcons.
In the final 10 minutes, the Diplomats pushed forward and attempted their only two shots of the half, but one was saved by goalie
Shelby Landes and the other turned away by defender
Megan Wetzel.
Thrilling Finish
The equalizer would finally come for the Falcons after a pair of penalty corners in the final two minutes of regulation. On the second corner,
Megan Wetzel slotted a pass to
Casie Stief on the left-side. Stief tossed a ball in to the mix in front of the cage and
Hannah Palm was there to clean up the loose ball and knot the match at 1-1 with 35 seconds remaining in regulation.
After a scoreless final seconds of the contest, Messiah and F&M went to overtime. The Falcons wasted no time in the extra period, striking just 29 seconds in off a chipped shot from
Megan Wetzel. Messiah pushed their way down the right-side and got the ball to Wetzel on the end line. The senior forced her way toward the cage and chipped a shot from a tough angle on the end line into the left-side of the cage to give Messiah their eighth-straight victory to begin the season.
Messiah ended the match with an 11-4 advantage in shots, putting seven attempts on frame against three from the Diplomats.
What's Up Next
Messiah will next take the field on Saturday when they host the Stevenson Mustangs on Anderson Field at 1:00 p.m. Last season Messiah earned a 5-1 victory over the Mustangs in Owings Mills, Md. on Oct. 7.
