COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The No. 11 Messiah Field Hockey team dropped a top 25 battle to No. 14 Ursinus on Wednesday night 3-2 in double-overtime. The teams battled for possession in the first quarter with neither team able to find the back of the cage. The Falcons were the first to earn a penalty corner early in the second quarter but were unable to convert. The Bears earned their first penalty corner a few minutes later and found the back of the cage to take a 1-0 lead that would hold through halftime. The Bears looked to extend their lead in the third, but it was
Naomi Lyter who found
Aubrey Clark at the front of the cage to level the score 1-1. The Bears regained their lead in the fourth when they converted a penalty corner at 52:28 for a 2-1 lead. Just a minute and a half later, Messiah utilized a penalty corner of their own when
Naomi Lyter found
Addie Weiler for the equalizing goal. Ursinus had a pair of late penalty corners but a blocked shot and a stellar save from
Joy Lippert forced the game into overtime. After a scoreless 10 minutes, the game moved to a second overtime period.
Joy Lippert made an early save but the Falcons were not able to take a shot before the Bears found the back of the cage in the 78th minute to earn the 3-2 double-overtime win.
The Falcons will wrap their stretch of road games on Saturday, Sept. 19, when they travel to Newport News, Va. at 1:00 p.m. to take on the No. 1 Christopher Newport Captains.
First Quarter
The Bears were the first to look for an opportunity to score when they fired a shot on goal just 2:34 into the game. After a save by
Joy Lippert in goal, the Falcons countered with an attack of their own that resulted in a blocked shot by
Ellie Lefever. Messiah maintained possession as
Addie Weiler fired a shot, missing just high. Lippert made a second save in goal before the teams traded possession. Lefever missed a shot just wide before
Joy Lippert made her third save of the quarter to keep the score 0-0 after 15 minutes of play.
Second Quarter
The Falcons earned the first penalty corner of the game about two minutes into the second quarter. The shot from
Ellie Lefever missed just wide as the score remained 0-0.
Aubrey Clark looked to get Messiah on the board but missed a shot just wide. The Bears earned their first penalty corner with just over five minutes remaining in the first half and were able to convert the opportunity to take a 1-0 lead that held through the end of the first half.
Third Quarter
Ursinus came out of the break looked to command possession and extend their lead. The Bears fired an early shot that was blocked before Ursinus had a penalty corner opportunity. A shot from the Bears was missed wide before the Bears continued to control possession. A penalty corner resulted in a shot blocked by the Messiah defense. The Falcons defense blocked a second shot before taking control of possession.
Naomi Lyter carried the ball up the sideline and into the circle before sending the ball to the front of the cage where
Aubrey Clark was able to tip it inside the near post to level the score at 1-1 with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter. A minute later, the Falcons earned their first penalty corner of the second half but the shot from Clark missed just wide and the teams remained notched at 1-1 with one quarter remaining.
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons looked to continue their momentum into the fourth quarter, earning three penalty corners in the first three minutes with
Chelsea Carlisle having a shot saved via defensive save and
Ellie Lefever having a shot blocked. The Falcons then had another three penalty corners in just over a minute, results in a shot from
Ellie Lefever being saved by the Ursinus goalie, a shot from Lefever being blocked, a shot from
Alyssa Lewis blocked and a shot by
Casey Tyrrell being saved by the Bears goalie. As the Bears gained their first strong possession of the fourth quarter, they earned a penalty corner and were able to convert to take a 2-1 lead with just over 7:30 to play. The Falcons earned a penalty corner and after a shot from
Aubrey Clark was blocked,
Addie Weiler was able to get a stick on the ball and poke it past the goalie to level the score 2-2 with six minutes to play. Weiler missed a shot just wide before the Bears earned three penalty corners in the final four seconds of play. The Bears had a shot blocked before
Joy Lippert stepped from her line and made a stellar save to keep the score 0-0. The third penalty corner was stopped by the Messiah defense who did not allow a shot as the game moved to overtime.
Overtime
The first six minutes of overtime was a back-and-forth battle of possession before
Naomi Lyter fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Bears goalie. At the other end of the field,
Joy Lippert made a save before a second shot from Ursinus was blocked by the Messiah defense.
Aubrey Clark fired a turnaround shot after carrying the ball into the circle, but the Ursinus defense was able to block the shot. Neither team registered another shot as the battle continued into a second overtime period.
Joy Lippert made a save early in the second overtime before the Bears fired a shot wide. The Falcons and Bears battled for the next seven minutes before the Bears found the back of the cage to earn the 3-2 double-overtime win.
Stats
Aubrey Clark and
Addie Weiler each tallied a goal for Messiah with
Naomi Lyter adding a pair of assists.
Joy Lippert made six saves in goal for the Falcons.
Up Next
The Falcons will wrap their stretch of road games on Saturday, Sept. 19, when they travel to Newport News, Va. at 1:00 p.m. to take on the No. 1 Christopher Newport Captains.
