Box Score
Grantham, PA - In a regular-season game with an NCAA Tournament feel, No. 3 Messiah College grabbed a thrilling 1-0 victory from No. 14 York College in double overtime. The game-winning goal went off the foot of junior
Joshua Wood with 2:45 remaining on the clock.
“That game could have ended in a tie,” Messiah head coach
Brad McCarty said. “But I thought we played enough to win, and we did.”
The dramatic Messiah victory came suddenly, with senior defender
Logan Thompson lofting the ball from the right side of midfield to Wood at corner of the 18-yard line. Wood redirected the ball off his chest to the middle of the field, where sophomore
Brian Ramirez streaked in for the possession. Ramirez touched the ball middle to quickly—and somewhat off-balanced—slide through two of York's defenders. Now into the box, Spartans' keeper Jesse Derksen sprinted off his line to close out on the Falcons' midfielder. Ramirez again touched left, moving past Derksen before attempting to strike the ball to the goal. His shot—taken while slipping on the wet grass—went softly towards the right post. There, Wood benefited from his crash on the net for the hard strike and golden goal.
The score set off a celebration for the Falcons, while simultaneously setting off a furious contention from the York coaches and players. With both teams running on the field—for opposite reasons—the Spartans' argued that Wood was offsides on Ramirez's touch. Nevertheless, the officials agreed on the ruling that Wood's position was legitimate, and the goal good.
For Wood, the goal was his third of the season; the assist was Ramirez's seventh.
“We had a number of really good chances in the second half and overtime,” McCarty said, commenting on his team's relentless attempt to win the game. “We really started to win our territory, and we found the right play.”
Though the game ended in Messiah's favor, both teams were able to create chances that kept fans on the edge of their seats. A total of 37 shots were taken in the game, with Derksen (4) and the Falcons'
Brandon West (6) each collecting dramatic saves. However, as the game wore on the Falcons seemed to grow stronger in their attack.
“I don't know if it was fitness, or because we had the ball more,” McCarty commented, thinking over the Falcons' strong play in the overtime periods. “We were definitely fresher than they were as the game wore on.”
True to his point, Messiah managed to launch nine shots in the overtime sessions, with York attempting just two shots. But York's two shots—both in the first overtime and both by forward Chris Weaver—demanded quick-reflex saves by West.
But with visitors being limited by the Falcons' defense, the Spartans' defense was repeatedly tested. It seemed only a matter time before Messiah would fine the one opportunity they needed, though they also misfired on great opportunities late in the game.
One such opportunity came just minutes into the second overtime, with sophomore
Jack Thompson being fed a through ball into the box. Sprinting behind his defender, Thompson and Derksen came together on the ball, with Thompson's shot deflecting off Derksen and back towards the 18-yard line. There, Wood had a clear shot on the goal, but his shot sailed over the cross bar.
Less than a minute later, Wood attacked on the left end line and put a hard cross on the ground to the far side of the goal. Arriving to the pass, sophomore
Jeremy Payne fired a shot that was blocked by a York defender on the goal line.
Though just statistics in hindsight, those chances—along with others—exemplified the relentless pressure applied by the Falcons' offense.
“Those guys are a handful up there,” McCarty said, thinking of Thompson, Payne, Wood,
Mike Kovach and
JP Fulton. “They're all good players that are tough to defend, and they're a lot of fun to watch.”
With both Messiah and York playing high-pressure, aggressive styles, Wednesday's game was entertaining from start to finish. The Spartans came out of the gate strong, making aggressive runs up the field as they collected seven shots in the first 45 minutes. The Falcons managed to keep York's primary players in check, including forward Antonio Bua.
“Bua is a big, strong, technical player,” McCarty said. “Our defense did a great job of keeping them in check—especially
Carter Robbins. I think Carter is one of the best center backs in the country.”
Though the Falcons' defense was playing at a high level, York appeared poised to take a lead with just under four minutes remaining before the half. A long throw-in from Brendan Saberton went flying over the Messiah defense before landing a few yards out from the left post. A deflection by the Spartans' Chris Weaver went sharply to the corner only to be punched over the end line by West.
Scoreless at the half, the aforementioned adjustments by the Falcons made the difference for the hosts as Messiah outshot York 18-6 after the intermission.
“In the first half, we had trouble breaking pressure, and they took it to us,” McCarty said. “In the second half, it was a different story.”
With Messiah gathering momentum as the game wore on, the Spartans' final great chance at a goal came in the 65th minute. Pushing down the right sideline against the run of play, a York cross went near the right post where Jake Hower flicked the ball behind himself to a trailing Taylor Brummitt. Brummitt's shot from 15 yards out went over
Carter Robbins and the reach of West, bounding off the cross bar and out of play.
From that point forward, Messiah controlled the game's tempo, proving—albeit close to the end—that it was just a matter of time before they would break through.
The dramatic Messiah victory moves the Falcons to 8-0-1, with York College falling to 7-2-1. In their past eight contests with York, Messiah is now 4-3-1, with Wednesday's win being their third in a row in the rivalry.
The win also concludes Messiah's non-conference schedule, as the Falcons will travel to Stevenson University on Saturday, September 29, for their first of nine Commonwealth Conference matchups.
