Falcons Erupt For 8-0 Win Over Previously Unbeaten King's
Posted: 9/23/2008
Box Score | More Field Hockey news
Like most of the Falcons' front line, senior Nikki Bailey was around King's cage for the majority of the afternoon. She finished with two goals and an assist.

Grantham, PA — The Messiah College field hockey team may have found an immediate cure for its recent trend of slow starts Tuesday afternoon at Anderson Field:

Play an opponent other than those ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Messiah (4-1) raced off to a 4-0 lead and never slowed down in an 8-0 thumping of previously unbeaten King’s College, only the second team the Falcons have faced this year not ranked in the top half of the STX/NFHCA Top 25. After a slow start lead to a disappointing 1-3 loss to then ninth-ranked Rowan University Sept. 13, Messiah responded with a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over then second-ranked Salisbury University this past Saturday.

Add in a 3-2 overtime win at then fourth-ranked Ursinus College to open the season back on Sept. 6, and the Falcons — now ranked fifth in the national poll — were due for a break.

King’s — boasting an unblemished record coming in and a remarkable 5.4 goals per game average — wasn’t exactly a ‘gimmie,’ at least according to Messiah head coach Jan Trapp.

“I think we were a little relieved to be playing a team not ranked in the top 10, but I was concerned with King’s,” she said. “The fact that they were undefeated, the fact that they beat (then 13th-ranked) E’Town (by a 2-1 score Saturday), the fact that (junior) Debbie Wychock had scored 22 goals in eight games, yeah, I was concerned. But we came out and played hard and very, very well today. It was a good game for us in many ways.”

Trapp’s squad erased much doubt from the opening tap, controlling possession to the tune of a season-best 45 shots on the Monarchs’ frame, all while allowing King’s a singular shot on the other end of the field.

Naturally, Messiah’s goal scoring came in waves, with junior Katie Love getting the first at the 17:33 mark. Love fired a put-back into the backboard after a scrum in front of the Monarchs’ cage, a scene that would repeat itself just over five minutes later. It was at that point that senior Nikki Bailey was in the right place at the right time, giving Messiah a 2-0 lead with 22:45 elapsed.

When sophomore Amber Philpot ripped a shot past King’s keeper Erin McGinley from the left side of the circle with 25:39 gone, Messiah was rolling. A perfectly struck ball from the top of the circle made it 4-0 at the 28:54 mark — courtesy of sophomore Julie Barton — a lead Messiah would carry into the intermission.

“I thought that we were much better at collecting the ball today,” Trapp said. “We didn’t have many big deflects. Tonight our midfield was very good. We were able to get it to our forwards, and they just shot and shot.”

That didn’t slow much in the latter half, as sophomore Lauren Tennis added to the lead off a Barton assist just 5:44 into play. Bailey then scored her second goal of the night with 46:58 elapsed, and helped freshman Kilee Rosenberry to her first collegiate goal via an assist with 54:21 recorded.

When sophomore Kourtney Ehly scored her first collegiate goal at the 67:12 mark, Messiah had put a season-high eight goals on the board with all 21 available players making an appearance.

King’s was held to a season-low one shot and one penalty corner in the defeat, while McGinley notched a season-best 25 saves in the Monarchs’ cage. The Falcons, meanwhile, tattooed the statistics, with Barton and junior Elizabeth Ziegler leading the way offensively. Both recorded six shots on the day.

“Our passing game was really good today,” Trapp said. “We had our heads up and we found people. I thought we played well together. We’re still tweaking our lineup and alignments, and we’re starting to come together.”

Trapp’s club will get a while to savor its latest victory as the team will remain idle for a week. Messiah will next host Albright College in its first league game of the year, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m.

“We’re going to take a few days off and get rested,” Trapp said. “We’ll then do some conditioning to keep our legs fresh. I’m not sure if any team has had to face the quality of people we have here at the start of the year. We’ll enjoy this time off and look to be ready for Albright next week.”