GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah field hockey team won their senior day matchup 6-1 over the visiting William Smith College Herons. Before the game, Taylor Wiederrecht, Megan Bomba, and Kristen Musser were recognized for the Falcons. Wiederrecht made an impression on her senior day, recording two goals with two assists coming from Hannah Palm. Freshman Abby Boyer also tallied a pair of goals for Messiah, with the two assists coming from Jennie Young.

The win gives Messiah a 14-4 overall record to end the regular season. They will be back in action as the No.1 seed in next week's MAC Commonwealth tournament. The Falcons will be taking on Arcadia University in a semifinal matchup on Anderson Field Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.

Early Tally
The Falcons came into the game riding a ten-game winning streak. About five minutes into the first quarter, the Falcons found the back of the cage. Ashlyn Smith found her way into the top of the circle on the right hand side and ripped a shot that got past the Heron goalkeeper and found the back of the cage. This gave the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.

Palm To Wiederrecht
In the second quarter, off a penalty corner, the ball found Hannah Palm's stick where she sent a shot to the right hand side of the goal. The ball began to curve to the left where Wiederrecht picked it up and found the cage to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, Palm was near the 25 yard line where she sent a beautiful pass to a waiting Wiederrecht at the left of the cage where she found the whole goal to herself and tapped it in to give Messiah a 3-0 lead.

Second Half Thunder
Messiah took that 3-0 lead into the half, having outshot the Herons 12-0. Early in the second half, Josie Weaver found an opening in the circle and dribbled around the Heron keeper and ripped a shot that found the right side of the cage and gave Messiah a 4-0 lead.

At the start of the fourth period, Jennie Young brought the ball up the right side of the circle and sent a gorgeous cross pass to a waiting Abby Boyer on the left post where Boyer sent it in for a 5-0 Falcons lead.

The Herons found the back of the cage off a penalty corner that saw Sophie Craig rip one into the right side of the goal to make it 5-1. Just a few minutes later, Messiah answered with another Young to Boyer combination. Young sent a cross to a waiting Boyer where she knocked it off her stick and sent a rocket into the right side of the net to give the Falcons a 6-1 lead.

That lead would hold up as the Falcons won the game 6-1 over William Smith. Messiah outshot the Herons 32-3 in the contest with 13 of those shots coming on goal.

Senior Day
As mentioned, Taylor Wiederrecht, Megan Bomba, and Kristen Musser were recognized before the game for Messiah. To this point in her career, Wiederrecht has amassed 21 goals with eight assists for 50 total points. Musser has recorded 13 career goals with seven assists for 33 total points. Bomba has appeared in 35 games in the cage for the Falcons, and has recorded 43 career saves. They have amassed an impressive 78-7 record as Falcons.

What's Up Next
The Falcons ended the regular season with a 14-4 overall record. Messiah will begin the MAC Commonwealth tournament next week as the No. 1 seed. They will take on Arcadia University in the semifinals Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. on Anderson Field.