GRANTHAM, Pa. – Wednesday's nationally-ranked showdown went down to the wire on Shoemaker Field between No. 17 Messiah women's soccer and No. 9 Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays scored early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead, but the Falcons'
Hannah Adair connected in the 86th minute off a corner kick to level the match at 1-1. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the final minutes and with a new NCAA rule change removing overtime, Messiah and Johns Hopkins ended in a 1-1 draw.
Neither team was able to generate a lot of quality looks with Johns Hopkins holding an 11-8 advantage in shots and the two teams combining for five total attempts on frame.
Messiah had a few opportunities early in the contest but could not capitalize on them.
Kenzie Spodnik had the best look for the Falcons in the early going, but had a shot saved in the sixth minute. The Blue Jays seemed to settle into the match, controlling possession and seemingly having the upper hand for the bulk of the contest.
Johns Hopkins earned three corner kicks in the opening half while holding Messiah without one.
Messiah attempted three more shots later in the half, with
Rachael Tirjan,
Kenzie Spodnik, and
Kristina Akselsen registering attempts. In total Johns Hopkins finished the half with six shots as the match went to the break scoreless.
Soon after the break, Johns Hopkins broke the tie with a tally off the foot of Katie Sulliavan. Messiah turned the ball over in the midfield in the own end and the Blue Jays quickly capitalized with Rachel Jackson finding Sullivan at the top of the box. With the goalie and a defending closing in on her, Sullivan was able to slip a shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 Blue Jays' lead in the 50th minute.
Messiah nearly equalized just minutes later with Rachael finding some free space behind the Johns Hopkins' defense in the 51st minute. Tirjan's shot from the right-side of the box rattled off the crossbar and was cleared out of danger.
The Falcons fought throughout the entirety of the second-half to find the game-tying goal. In took 35 minutes, but the Falcons broke through on their fourth corner kick of the half in the 86th minute. Messiah earned the corner on the left side of the field with Racheal Tirjan knocking the ball off a Johns Hopkins' defender in the corner. With
Kenzie Spodnik ready to serve the corner into the box, Messiah subbed
Hannah Adair onto the field. Just seconds later, Adair found the ball at her feet after the corner was knocked loose from the keeper's hands. Just feet from the left post, Adair tapped in the equalizer and tied the match at 1-1 with less than five minutes to play.
The final minutes were played between the boxes and Messiah and Johns Hopkins finished level at 1-1.
What's Up Next
Messiah will be back in action for another tough test on Saturday when they travel to Geneva, N.Y. to take on the No. 5 William Smith Herons at 1:00 p.m.
