Box Score
Haverford, PA - Apparently, ties don't sit well with the Falcons—just ask the Fords.
Messiah College men's soccer roared back from Saturday's
scoreless draw with Oneonta State, riding a hat trick from sophomore
Jeremy Payne to defeat Haverford College by the score of 4-0. Messiah took command just 18 minutes into the game, scoring twice in a span of five minutes en route to their highest scoring output in 2012.
The win moves Messiah to 2-0-1 on the season, with the Fords falling to 1-1. The game was also the Falcons' second victory over the Fords in as many years, following their
1-0, rain-soaked win over Haverford last season.
Early in the contest, it appeared as if the Fords were on the brink of taking a lead over the visitors. Two shots—one high, one wide—were taken on the Falcons' goal within the first four minutes of the game, with Messiah goalkeeper
Brandon West also collecting his first save soon after.
But after that initial attack by Haverford, the Falcons managed to mount their own assault. Payne put the Falcons on top 1-0 in the 19th minute, scoring off a feed through the box from freshman
Bryant Myer. The score was Payne's first on the season, with the assist being the third for Bryant.
The Fords almost evened the score a moment later, with a header in the box by Colin Lubelczyk being grabbed at the top of the goal by West. Haverford would lament the missed opportunity, as Messiah would add a second goal on their subsequent possession.
The 2-0 lead would come courtesy of senior
JP Fulton on an assist by classmate
Aaron Myers. Myers' cross—from the left side as he was cutting along the end line—went just over the outstretched arms of keeper Andriy Mshanestskyy at the near post and into the middle of the box. There, a Haverford defender failed to clear the ball as Fulton fought the ball across the goal line.
The Falcons' 2-0 lead would remain into the second half, with Payne adding a second goal off another cross by Myers. This time, the feed by Myers traveled through the air where Payne put a header past Mshanestskyy for the 3-0 advantage.
Now down three scores, the Fords continued to test the Messiah defense. The hosts would actually launch 12 total shots in the game—six in each half— with a few of them requiring stellar defensive efforts on behalf of the Falcons. And to the visitor's credit, those defensive plays created opportunities for their attack.
Messiah would continue to wear down their host's defense, taking close-range shots of their own while getting near the goal on countless other plays. Payne's third goal of the game came in the 79th minute on a breakaway through the Fords' defense—the product of a relentless Falcons' attack on Haverford's midfield and back row.
The win was a desired result for the Falcons, as they entered Wednesday's game ranked
No. 17 in the most recent NSCAA Top 25 poll—undoubtedly their lowest showing in the poll since before their string of three straight NCAA Division III National Championships from 2008–2010. On Wednesday, the Falcons looked more like the team that was ranked No. 3 in the NSCAA Preseason Poll.
For Payne, the hat trick was the first of his collegiate career and the most goals he scored in one game since notching a pair of scores in Messiah's 8-0 win over Geneva College last season. It was the Falcons' first hat trick since Nick Thompson scored
all three goals in a 3-1 win over Elizabethtown College in November of 2010.
Messiah outshot the Fords 16-12, and took two more corners (6-4). West collected two saves, with Mshanestskyy grabbing a pair of saves in each half.
The Falcons will look to keep their play elevated this weekend when they host Mary Washington on Shoemaker Field. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since Messiah's
thrilling, 2-1 OT win over the Eagles in 2010.
