Box Score
Grantham, PA — For the second time in three years, Messiah will compete for a MAC Championship.
The Falcons' most recent ticket was punched on a gorgeous Thursday afternoon at Anderson Field, as the team raced past Alvernia University by a 23-5 score in one of the MAC Semi-Finals, setting up a Saturday re-match with rival Elizabethtown College — which defeated FDU-Florham by a 15-6 count in the other semi.
Messiah (16-1) won 23 of the game's 30 draw controls and picked up 21 ground balls to Alvernia's 13 in the win, overcoming an early, 2-1 deficit to roll to the team's 12th straight win — adding to the program record.
“Success off draws was our main goal going into today, and I was so proud of how we competed in that area,” said Heather Greer, Messiah head coach. “When we played (Alvernia) a month ago (a 19-10 Messiah win), we were nearly even with them in draws. We really felt we could have played better at their place, and we were anxious to show that today.”
After a somewhat slow start, Greer's club did just that. Following a draw control win from senior Kara Geiman and a subsequent goal from sophomore Cecilia Kjellman just eight seconds into play, Alvernia (11-7) scored back-to-back markers, taking a 2-1 lead just three minutes in.
It was merely an anomaly, however, as the Falcons' offense started to roll, scoring five straight goals to blow things open. Geiman began the surge with a pair of goals — off assists from junior Rachel Dirksen — while Kjellman followed with two straight, the second coming off a brilliant feed from sophomore Gabrielle Hamerlyck.
Alvernia's Samantha Landis was able to take the ensuing draw control and race down the field for the Crusaders' third goal of the day, but another 5-0 Messiah spurt effectively put the game away. Geiman again started the push — en route to five goals on the afternoon — while freshman Lizzy Keeney, Dirksen and Kjellman all added scores as well.
“Alvernia is a fast, strong team that likes to get the ball and just go hard at the goal,” Greer said. “We didn't want that to be an option today.”
Thanks to Messiah's dominance in draw controls, it never was. The Falcons outshot Alvernia by a 42-15 margin on the day, including a 25-10 difference in the opening 30 minutes — leading to a 15-4 halftime lead.
And if winning the majority of draw controls weren't enough, Messiah — ranked 12th in the latest IWLCA Top 20 Poll — finished five of eight free position shots, while sophomore goalie Taylor Phillips kept Alvernia to no scores in four attempts, finishing with nine saves against 14 shots on goal.
“We have tweaked some things since the first time we played, and I thought our ride was better today and we did a much better job with ground balls,” Greer said. “We were getting low and were clean with our pickups ... it's a fundamental skill. I thought (junior) Rachel Coyle was really good today. Her first and second efforts ... she was just hungry to get the ball back. We fed off of that.”
Coyle paced Messiah with six ground balls, forcing four turnovers as well. Dirksen came up with a career-high eight draw controls, while Kjellman matched Geiman in goals (five). Keeney and senior Megan Bovenzi each scored four times.
Messiah now hosts Elizabethtown — ranked 16th in the same IWLCA Poll — Saturday at 1 p.m., in a re-match that has been all but presumed since the teams met April 14 on E'Town's Ira R. Herr Field. The Falcons won that battle by a 11-9 score, determining where Saturday's MAC Championship will be played.
Two years ago, Messiah knocked out Elizabethtown by a 6-5 score on that very same turf, winning the program's second-ever conference championship. Greer said she hopes the team can do the same Saturday, on its own campus.
“Our focus needs to be on us, on playing our game,” she said. “E'Town is a great team, but this game is about us. We've been working on treating every game like a championship game, so the goal is the same. We're working toward the same result as we have been all season.”
