San Antonio, TX – Messiah advanced to the program's seventh national championship game behind a 2-1 win over Williams College in Friday night's NCAA Division III National Semi-Final, displaying yet another depth-led, second-half dominant brand of soccer.
That, and a sneaky first-half goal didn't hurt.
Despite being outplayed for much of the game's opening 45 minutes, it was Messiah (23-1) that claimed a 1-0 lead at halftime, scoring a counter-attack goal in the game's 33rd minute to frustrate Williams (16-3-3), which finished the first half with a 10-5 advantage in total shots and a 5-3 lead in corner kicks.
A score from sophomore Derek Black put the Falcons up 2-0 in the more Messiah-controlled second half, and the Falcons were able to hang on down the stretch, handing a very big, athletic and technically-savvy Williams squad its first loss since October.
Messiah now advances to face Calvin College in Saturday's NCAA Division III National Championship game, as the Knights handed Dominican University (IL) a 1-0 defeat in Friday's other semi-final.
“You have to credit Williams,” said Messiah head coach Brad McCarty. “I thought they were brilliant in the first half. I thought we were fortunate to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead. I don't really think (the play of) the first half showed that. We definitely had some scoring opportunities, but I thought they carried the play in the first half.”
Much of that play was sustained by the Ephs' front line, as Williams' athletic attackers pounded McCarty's defense for 18 total shots on the evening – a season-high allowance from Messiah.
Four of the Ephs' eight total shots on frame were stopped by senior goalkeeper Jared Clugston, who came up with perhaps his most artistic – if not best – game of his senior season.
Clugston's brilliance was on full display midway through the first half, when Williams' third and fourth shots of the game appeared certain to give the designated visitors a 1-0 lead.
As the Ephs' continued to maintain possession and create build-ups with nifty touch passes and drop-offs in the Falcons' defensive third, Williams' junior forward Charles Romero got in and ripped a shot from 12 yards out.
His attempt was blocked before reaching Clugston, but the rebound deflected directly to Ephs' junior Gaston Kelly, who had an eight-yard look on goal – with Clugston prone, lying on the ground.
Somehow, Clugston sprung to his left – almost cat-like in nature – diving full out to stop what would have been Kelly's seventh goal of the year.
“That was an unbelievable save,” McCarty said afterward. “(Kelly) was in, he did the right thing in opening up his hips, he hit it far post and it should have gone in. That was an amazing save. Overall, Clug was good in the air, and that was a big part of our ability to handle their height up front.”
McCarty's group sustained relentless pressure from the Ephs' through the majority of the first half, somehow keeping the slate clean despite a number of quality opportunities for the guests, including a free kick from just inches outside the 18-yard box moments before Clugston's miraculous save.
“Our plan was to come out and attack and put them back on their heels,” said Mike Russo, Williams head coach. “I thought we were athletic enough to cause them some problems, but we couldn't get one in before halftime.”
Incredibly, it was the Falcons that were able to break the scoreless deadlock, as a counter-attack opportunity led to an against-the-grain score with 32:46 elapsed. Sophomore Sam Woodworth won a 50-50 ball just yards off the Ephs' 18-yard box, and gorgeously megged Williams' final defender, getting in on Ephs' sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Graham.
As Graham charged out, Woodworth slipped the ball to classmate Trevor Lee, who was crashing in from his right winger position.
Lee touched the ball around Graham and smartly dribbled the ball all the way into the empty net, stunning the Williams' side with a goal on only Messiah's fourth shot of the contest.
“I would say it's frustrating, but it's the game of soccer,” Russo said of Messiah's first score. “I've coached a long time. There are games that you control and don't put one in, and there are those that you find that one chance and take advantage.”
Williams' Romero agreed.
“I thought their (first) goal was against the run of play,” he said, “and yes, it was frustrating to carry the play in the half and not get a goal.”
Nevertheless, it was Messiah that claimed the 1-0 lead at halftime, surviving the remainder of the first period despite a flurry of Williams' corner kicks to close the stanza.
As halftime came and went, however, so did Williams' dominance of the ball.
As has often been the case this season, McCarty's group came out with a vengeance in the second period, taking four of the first five shots of the half en route to a 14-8 advantage overall in the game's final 45 minutes.
Those attempts finally came to fruition in the 79th minute, as Black received a long cross from sophomore Danny Thompson, who returned an initial cross from Black back to the left side of the field.
Black took a touch and fired a shot to the far post, beating Graham with both pace and location.
Realizing he had just given his squad an insurance goal with just over 11 minutes to play, Black stopped just paces from where he scored and performed a back flip.
“We kept our width, and I think that made it hard for their backs to stay with us,” Black would later say. “(On the goal) I just saw the ball coming through and Coach tells us to get in to the far post and swing through. I took a touch and hit it hard and low, just like he tells us to.”
Black's celebration may have been premature, had it not been for improved play all over the field for Messiah. Williams pulled within a 2-1 difference just over three minutes later, as Ephs' senior Matt Ratajczak scored a putback goal following a corner kick at the 82:08 mark.
As the clock wore down, however, Williams' pressure seemed to turn to the club pressing, as neither of the Ephs' final two shots of the game were on frame or taken from reasonable yardage.
Despite a number of quality opportunities from Williams over the course of play – including another shot which hit the post before settling into Clugston's hands and yet another diving save from the Falcons' keeper with 8:14 to go – Messiah had captured a 2-1 win in a game worthy of national semi-final expectations.
“Messiah is a very good ball possession team, and we wanted to negate that,” Russo said. “I thought, with our athleticism, we could cause them some problems. But that's tough to do for 90 minutes.”
McCarty seemed to agree.
“I think anytime a team is unable to maintain the level of pressure that they were able to bring in the first half, it allows us to possess, switch fields, play wide, and our wing play was good tonight,” he said. “We talked about (Williams' size) a lot. There are things you can control and things you can't. For us, it was a mentality, a desire, a hunger to fight, battle, move our feet and get position.”
McCarty now leads Messiah into the program's seventh national championship game Saturday, all in his first year as the Falcons' head coach. Messiah is a perfect 6-0 in national championships, winning the golden trophy in 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002 and 2000.
“We try not to think about that,” McCarty said of his success as a first-year leader. “We try and focus on the small details, and I think that gets us to where we want to go.”
Messiah and Calvin will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. (CST) for the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship. That game will take place following the women's national title game, where Messiah will be taking on Washington University-St. Louis at 1 p.m. (CST).
All games are taking place at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio, Texas. Fans can follow all the action via Live Stats and Live Video at the 'championships central' website. Live Audio will also be provided by WVMM, 90.7 FM.
