Box Score
Grantham, PA – The No. 10 Messiah College field hockey team came up with a big win Thursday afternoon, downing reigning national champion TCNJ by a score of 3-2 on Anderson Field.
Sophomore
Celina Nissley sent home the game-winner with just four minutes remaining in a back-and-forth contest that saw a two-goal halftime lead for the Falcons dissolved in a matter of minutes.
Given the history between these two teams and the national prowess each carries, fans were in for a treat from the opening whistle.
From the start, the game was marked with physical play and gritty battles for possession. The Lions, currently ranked No. 9 in the most recent NFHCA polls, came out strong, and hungry for the first goal. TCNJ found opportunities early, but goalkeeper
Molly Gebrosky and the Falcons' defense held strong, thwarting off the Lions' early penalty corners.
After trading possessions throughout the beginning of the contest, neither team could put enough together to get a ball towards the net. An early opportunity for the Falcons went through goalie Roslin Dougherty's pads but the Lions' Mikayla Cimilluca was there to keep the ball from entering the goal.
Remaining consistent in their ability to draw first blood, the Falcons got on the board first with a goal from
Emily Bower—her sixth of the year and sixth in the last four games. Maneuvering her way through the Lions' defense and to the top of the circle, Bower sent a bouncing shot towards the net. A few attempts to clear from the Lions' defense and a deflection attempt from teammate
Juliana Hershey came up empty, allowing the ball to tuck into the left side for a 1-0 lead.
“Emily (Bower) has been great for us in the past few weeks,” head coach
Brooke Good said. “We moved her to a new position and it has really paid off-- she is playing extremely well.”
Unfortunately, Bower soon left the game with an injury and was unable to return for the Falcons.
“We will have to see how she is in the next couple of days. Thankfully, we had some players come in a step up in her absence,” Good added. “Hopefully she will be okay. It hurts to lose someone like her.”
The goal seemed to give the Falcons an extra bit of momentum. Dougherty staved off a good look at the goal by Nissley late in the half and shots from
Kelly Martin and
Heather Quirk couldn't find the goal, but still the Falcons pressed on.
After an extended offensive possession that yielded three straight penalty corners the Falcons would strike again.
Senior
Juliana Hershey sent a hard pass to the top of the circle for
Becky Ely, who dropped a quick pass to her left for senior
Kelly Martin. Martin sent what looked to be an errant shot towards the cage that found the stick of teammate Natalie Zeigler. Zeigler gathered the ball and drilled it past Dougherty and in for a 2-0 lead with under a minute remaining in the half. Martin collected her seventh assist of the year and Zeigler tallied for the third time this season.
Messiah seemed poised to capture their 12 win of the season as the second half opened up; in games this season where the Falcons have led by two or more goals they were 10-0.
But just 36 seconds into the half the Falcons saw their lead cut in half. The Falcons fell victim to an own goal, the first in Messiah field hockey history under the circumstances. The Lions' Erin Waller sent a blistering shot from outside the circle that deflected off a Messiah defender's stick and past Gebrosky. In previous years the goal would not have counted as no offensive player touched the ball upon entering the circle, but a new rule implemented in 2012 allows for shots taken from outside the circle to be counted as a goal if any player, offensive or defensive, touches it within the circle.
“It definitely took a little bit of wind out of our sails,” Good said of the goal. “It's a new rule and it was really unexpected.”
With the goal, the Lions celebrated in jubilation and, consequently for the Falcons, found some momentum that seemed to be extinguished by the early Falcons lead. The Lions carried that momentum to a tie score in the 55th minute off the stick of Victoria Martin.
“After they tied it up we knew we had to take it to them. They started adjusting and out-cutting us to the ball,” Good added. “It was going to come down to who wanted more, and I think we really stepped up.”
With the Falcons on their heels and pinned in their defensive zone, Gebrosky came up big with two saves and the Falcons gained possession on a turnover by the Lions on a shot just wide of the net.
Off the change of possession, the Falcons found room deep in Lions territory, forcing a corner in a pivotal moment of the game.
A crisp pass from Nissley up to a waiting
Becky Ely was efficiently sent back to
Brooke Sands. A quick shot from Sands was saved, but the junior forward gathered her rebound and circled towards the endline. A quick turn and pass across the goalmouth was picked up by Nissley. Her initial shot went off the left blocker of Dougherty, but the follow up slammed the back of the net.
The Falcons sidelines erupted in celebration as Nissley turned to celebrate with teammates on the field. The goal came with just four minutes remaining, seemingly deflating the Lions and extinguishing any hopes of forcing an extra period. The Falcons found more opportunities following the goal, including a penalty corner and blocked shot as time expired.
After dropping tough losses to Eastern University and Franklin & Marshall College earlier this month, the Falcons came out on top in this battle between two top-10 teams.
The Falcons improved to 3-2 in one-goal games this season and 12-3 overall. In their last six meetings against TCNJ, Messiah is now 4-2.
After spending much of the season at No. 1, the Lions have now dropped two of their last three, holding an overall record of 13-3 on the year.
The Falcons will return to Commonwealth play on Saturday for their last home contest of the regular season, welcoming Arcadia University to Anderson field at 1 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 20.
The Falcons and Lions came out in today's contest donning bright pink accessories in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Each Falcons player wore a black shirt that had the phrase “Fight like a girl” on the back for support of breast cancer awareness during pregame warm-ups. Players also wore pink headbands, arm bands, and used pink tape for their sticks throughout the game.
Additionally, the contest started with a pink ball in play, which was played through the first out-of-bounds play.
FH: Falcons Pull Out Tough Win Over TCNJ Gallery
