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Grantham, PA – Messiah College scored twice in the first 14 minutes against Grove City on Sunday, earning a 3-0 win to move to the Third Round of the NCAA Championships. Ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll, the Falcons will face MIT next week as they continue to
defend their national championship from last season.
Senior
Anne Trapp opened the scoring on Sunday, sending a powerful strike from 25 yards out in the midfield to the left side of the Wolverines' goal. The score, assisted on a lateral pass from junior
Ali Rogers, was Trapp's second of the season.
Less than four minutes later, junior
Emily Schneider put the Falcons up 2-0 by way of an impressive finish from near the left post. The play started in the midfield with senior
Alex Brandt chipping possession into the box for
Nikki Elsaesser. Receiving the ball with her defender on her back, Elsaesser headed the ball to the left side of the box. Running in from behind the play, Schneider drilled the shot from five yards off the post and into the top of the net.
The pair of scores would be the product of 11 total shots for Messiah in the first half, with at least a few other opportunities nearly resulting in additional goals for the Falcons.
“I think our wingers got behind them a little bit,” Messiah head coach
Scott Frey said. “We did a good job of keeping the pressure on them to create some good chances.”
Grove City collected just two shots in the first half, their only attempts in the game. Neither of shots went on goal.
In the second half, Messiah continued to hold possession in the Wolverines' territory, taking another nine shots in their attempts to increase their lead. In the 75th minute, the Falcons would break through once again.
Playing off a set play from 20 yards out, junior
Alicia Frey placed a perfect strike to the back of the net for the 3-0 advantage. The goal, Frey's 11th on the season, resulted from senior
Alex Brandt being fouled on her approach toward Grove City's goal.
The foul on Brandt allowed Frey—who played defense for Messiah in the game after spending the season at the forward spot—a chance to put a clean shot on goal.
“We wanted to solidify things (defensively) tonight, and (Alicia) did a solid job of settling things down in the back for us,” Frey said of Alicia's move on the field. “Even with the move, we were still able to generate good chances up front. Our targets did a good job of playing out of the midfield.”
The Falcons almost added a fourth goal a few minutes later, with senior
Stephanie Andrews sending a shot from 16 yards off the goal line just wide of the left post.
In the end, Messiah finished with a 3-0 win and a trip to into Tournament's second weekend—the
12th time in the past 13 years they've advanced as far.
The loss for the Wolverines ends their season at 16-4-2. After entering the NCAA postseason by way of an at-large selection, Grove City earned a 1-0 win over Western Connecticut State for their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Altogether, the season was perhaps the best-ever in their program history.
“This season was a roaring success,” head coach Melissa Lamie said. “We had unexpected success early on…and getting to the NCAAs was a big step to understanding where our program wants to be.”
For Messiah, the win moves them 20-1-1 and sets them up for a match-up with Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Location and time for the contest will be determined on Monday, Nov. 12.
Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com for additional updates on the Falcons' upcoming schedule and match-ups.
WSOC: Falcons Score Thrice to Advance Gallery
