GRANTHAM, Pa. - On a brisk fall night on Anderson Field, the Messiah field hockey struck first and battled their way through the York Spartans' defense to earn a 3-1 victory. After early back and forth possession, Ashlyn Smith created space inside the circle and drilled a ball to the back of the cage to give Messiah a 1-0 7:29 into the contest. Just 30 seconds later the Spartans answered to tie the game at 1-1, a score that would hold through until the second half. Josie Weaver regained the Falcons' lead in the 45th minute with a tipped in shot off of a corner. With time dwindling down in the fourth period, the Falcons were awarded a late corner and Hannah Palm added the insurance run to give Messiah a 3-1 lead with six seconds on the clock and the eventual victory over the Spartans.

Messiah is now 9-4 on the season and will stay at home this weekend to take on the Widener University Pride at 1:00 p.m. on Oct. 19, starting a busy Homecoming Saturday in Grantham. 

Back and Forth Possession, Back-to-Back Goals
With the temperature dropping and the wind ripping through Anderson Field, the Falcons and Spartans traded possessions to open up the contest. Neither team recorded a shot or earned a penalty corner in the opening seven minutes of the first period. The story of the first half started when Messiah was awarded their first penalty corner of the contest 7:22 into the game. With Nicole Shank inserting the Falcons got the ball to the stick of Mackenzie Brubaker who slotted it to AshlynSmith. Smith created her chance on the far side of the circle and struck the ball hard to beat the goalie and give Messiah the 1-0 lead 7:29 into the first period. 

York retaliated in what felt like seconds, battling their way to their attacking end to earn a corner with 7:54 on the clock. The Spartans' Abby Piotrowski took a shot off the corner but her attempt was saved by senior goalie Megan Bomba. Piotrowski picked up the rebound from her initial attempt and got her revenge against Bomba to tie the game at one a piece just half a minute after the Falcons' tally. 

From there, the Falcons owned the majority of play, earning four penalty corners while taking six shots in the last four minutes of the period but none could find the cage. The two teams tallied just one shot each in the second period with the Falcons earning the only penalty corner of the period.

Go Ahead Goal
The Falcons started the third period with brief offensive pressure after earning a penalty corner 1:33 into the second half. The corner resulted in a shot from Ashlyn Smith but her attempt was blocked. York answered back with a penalty corner and shot of their own in the 36th minute but found the same result as their shot was blocked. 

The Spartans had a two-minute advantage after Ashlyn Smith was given a green card in the 42nd minute. York was only able to register one shot during that time period with the attempt going wide of the cage. 

With 44:00 on the clock Jennie Young beat her defender and had a one-on-one chance with the goalie but the Spartans' Sam Keating came off her line to make the save on Young's strike. The Falcons kept the ball in their attacking end for the remainder of the period and found the go ahead goal with 16 seconds left in the period. Ashlyn Smith took a rip from the top of the circle that found Josie Weaver's stick just in front of the cage, giving Messiah the 2-1 lead and Weaver's sixth goal of the season.

Cherry On Top
Despite not recording a shot in the fourth period, the Spartans had some dangerous opportunities as they carried possession into the attacking third on numerous occasions. The Falcons continuously tried to add an insurance goal in the last period, earning a total of four corners and four shots to try to get it done. Their efforts left the score unchanged until Hannah Palm found herself in front of the cage with six seconds on the clock during a penalty corner. Palm took a pass from Josie Weaver and slotted the ball right past the goalie to give the Falcons a sweet ending and 3-1 victory over the York College Spartans. 

What's Up Next
The Falcons are staying in Grantham for Homecoming Weekend and will kick off the busy Saturday against Widener at 1:00 p.m. Messiah currently holds a 27-3-0 record against the Pride with their most recent contest ending 4-1 in favor of the Falcons on Sept. 22, 2018.