Box Score
Grantham, PA - Trailing by the score of 17-13 with just over four minutes remaining, Catholic University staged a furious rally to tie the score at 17-17 and force overtime with #10 Messiah College. In the overtime periods, Catholic would outscore the Falcons 3-1 to take an upset victory on the road.
The win is Catholic's second in a row over a ranked opponent, as they were coming off a 15-9 victory over #19 Stevenson.
With Messiah leading 17-13, Catholic Mary Swarthout would score twice in just 0:58 to draw the Cardinals to 17-15. After senior Meghan Brody make it a one goal game with a goal at the 2:12 mark, freshman Lindsay Brohpy tied the game with just 0:53 seconds remaining.
Although each team would take possession of the ball before the final horn, the game would remain tied as the Falcons entered their second overtime contest in their last three games-- the last of which was a
heart-breaking loss to Franklin and Marshall in which, coincidentally, the Falcons also lost after holding a late lead.
Unfortunately for Messiah-- ranked #10 in the most recent IWLCA Top 20 poll, the highest ranking in team history-- the Cardinals would carry their momentum into the extra session.
Brophy would score two of the Cardinals' three goals in the overtime as Messiah would manage only one score-- a goal by sophore
Lizzy Keeney with less than a minute to play and the Falcons trailing 20-17.
The win by the Cardinals was shocking in its own right, but until their late rally the storyline was about Messiah's strong, balanced play. The Falcons had four players score at least three goals, and managed to take their late lead with more than one of their regulars forced out of the contest.
In the first half, junior defender
Maddie Comfort left the field after a hard collision around midfield. Comfort's injury would be a large blow the Falcons' defense, which did not help their plan to contain Swarthout. Catholic's leading scorer came into the day with 16 goals, and would collect eight goals and two assists in the win over Messiah. She scord five of the Cardinals' first eight goals in the first half.
Adding pressure to the Falcons' bench were penalties to three of their standout seniors-- midfilelder
Cecilia Kjellman, attack
Rachel Dirksen, and defender
Rachel Coyle.
Kjellman was penalized with yellow cards at the 18:23 and 2:07 marks of the first half, being forced to sit for the remainder of the game. Coyle received a yellow card for slashing with 1:46 left until intermission.
In the second half, Messiah received another card-- this one being a red card for Dirksen. The senior star was called for a hard hit to the head of Swarthout outside the right wing of the 12-meter line. The hit appeared to be entirely incidental as Dirksen was attempting to keep Swarthout from cutting towards the goal, but Dirksen was ultimately forced from the game at that point. It would be a brutal blow to the Falcons, as Kjellman and Dirksen had a combined 54 goals entering Wednesday's game.
Adding insult to injury was a second yellow card issued to Coyle with just two and a half minutes remaining in the final overtime period. By that point, Messiah trailed 19-17 and, in an effort to force a turnover, pulled their goalie. The result was another goal for the Cardinals and a 20-17 lead that ended up in a 20-18 victory.
The loss for the Falcons is too easily a game of "what if" as they scored four straight goals to open the second half and take a 14-9 lead. Even though Catholic (4-4) responded of three unanswered scores of their own, Messiah pushed their lead to that 17-13 advantage and seemed ready to pull off the win despite losing Comfort, Kjellman, and Dirksen with most of the game remaining.
Messiah's effort to win the game was largely aided by goalie
Kelsey Luck. The freshman collected 11 saves-- many of them in dramatic fashion-- after being substituted into the game with 21:32 remaining in the first half.
With the loss, Messiah falls to 7-2 and will now prepare for a Commonwealth matchup at Lebanon Valley College on Thursday, April 5. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.
