Box Score
Grantham, PA - Playing their third game in five days, the Messiah College Falcons used a trio of quick strikes in the second half to push passed the Arcadia University Knights Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons received goals from
Emily Hursh,
Juliana Hershey, and
Brooke Sands. Hursh and Hershey continue to produce for the Falcons as they have combined for 39 points on the season (13 goals, 13 assists).
Despite a tie game through the 41st minute of play, the stat sheet suggested a lopsided affair in favor of the Falcons. Good opportunities yielded no results through 35 minutes. The Falcons held a 9-0 shots advantage and a 4-1 corners edge over that span, but the scoreboard still read 0-0.
“We knew we were going to get our opportunities after half time,” head coach
Brooke Good said after the game. “It was only just a matter of time.”
Good was right and that time came quickly in the second half.
Hursh collected a shot that was poised to go out of bounds on the left side of the Knights' cage and tucked it under a diving Mia DePlato for the 1-0 lead just 7:41 into the frame. The goal was Hursh's sixth on the season and first since
last Saturday's 4-0 win over Alvernia University.
“We were just looking for that little spark- or that little glimpse of hope,” Hursh said. “Once we got that it seemed like we just kept going and never let down.”
It seemed as though Hursh's spark created a fire for the Falcons who would score twice more with less than four minutes elapsing off the clock.
Juliana Hershey gathered a one-handed pass from
Brooke Sands five yards above the goalline and slammed home her seventh of the season midway up the right side of the goal. The goal came a mere 26 seconds after the Hursh tally. At first glance through the Messiah Athletics statistical records, the two-goal time span was the shortest this season. In their game against Hood, the Falcons scored goals 29 seconds apart in a 10-0 win.
The Falcons weren't done scoring just yet.
Brooke Sands tallied on a great individual effort just less than four minutes later. The junior forward avoided an Arcadia defender and dribbled to her backhand. The backhanded shot went under the outstretch arms of DePlato and a Knights' defender for a 3-0 lead. Sands collected her sixth goal of the season.
The Knights fall to 14-5 on the season and 3-4 in the conference.
The Falcons, winners of six straight, improved to a perfect 7-0 in the conference and 12-3 on the season. Messiah also finished their only three game week with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring their opponents 16-2, including
a 3-2 win over No. 9 TCNJ on Thursday.
“We have two more games left, a conference game and a huge game against William Smith College,” Good said. “We are just going to take some time to rest after this long week and get ready to finish the season strong.”
The Falcons wrap-up their regular season conference schedule when they travel to Chester, Pa., to take on Widener University on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m. Their regular season schedule ends against William Smith College three days later on Saturday, Oct. 27, at noon.
