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Ehly Nets Three As #1 Messiah Shows Best At Elizabethtown
Posted: 10/10/2009
Box Score | More Field Hockey news
Junior Kourtney Ehly cut up the Blue Jays' defense for a trio of scores.

By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Elizabethtown, PA — When Messiah head coach Jan Trapp uses the word ‘best’ to describe her team’s play, it’s a near certainty that the Falcons were playing some awfully good field hockey.

Such was the case Saturday at Commonwealth Conference rival Elizabethtown College, as Messiah continued its streak of dominance with a 5-0 win over the host Blue Jays. It was the Falcons' fifth team shutout in its last eight games, in all probability keeping Messiah atop next week’s NFHCA/Kookaburra Top 20 Poll.

“The girls played extremely well,” the Falcons’ Hall of Fame coach said afterward. “It was a tremendous team effort and I think it was our best game of the season.”

Junior forward Kourtney Ehly had a lot to do with that sentiment, scoring an unassisted goal just 7:10 into the game. It would be the first of three goals from Ehly, who registered her first collegiate hat trick.

“Kourtney's (first) goal was incredible,” said Trapp. “She was weaving in and out and just made a really great shot.”

Senior forward Katie Love scored off a pass from junior midfielder Lauren Tennis at the 13:23 mark and Ehly followed that up with a goal of her own off a pass from Love at the 18:34 mark, giving the Falcons an early 3-0 lead over the Blue Jays.

“We've been having problems scoring early,” said Trapp. “It was nice to get on the board early.”

And while Messiah (11-0, 3-0) would not score during the next 25 minutes of action, the Falcons’ dominant possession game could not be ignored: Finishing with a 25-0 advantage in total shots and a 21-2 disparity in total penalty corners kept the ball in E’Town’s defensive end throughout the game, making a forthcoming Messiah goal a near certainty.

That score came just eight and a half minutes following the halftime break, as freshman defender Natalie Ziegler scored off a penalty shot at the 43:23 mark to give the Falcons a 4-0 lead. This gave Messiah the highest total scored against Elizabethtown (8-4, 2-1) by any team all season, as the Blue Jays’ previous high was here goals in a 2-3 loss to Franklin & Marshall College back on Sept. 2.

Ehly increased that statistic just two and a half minutes later, scoring another goal at the 45:49 mark. Her third of the day and 11th of the season, Ehly finished in front of the E’Town cage via a cross from Love, giving the Falcons a 5-0 lead.

The Falcons kept things from getting remotely interesting throughout the remainder, as strong play from the midfield and defense kept the pressure on.

“We were able to get eight of our subs into the game, and they played very well,” said Trapp.

In all, the defense recorded another shutout, holding the Blue Jays to no shots or penalty corners, in one of the team's most dominating defensive performances of the year.

Senior goalie Ashley Mowery recorded another shutout in goal — her third wire-to-wire no-no of the season — and, as a credit to the defense, she didn't need to record a single save all day.

Messiah will be looking to keep its collective level of play at a similar standard Tuesday, when the travels to 16th-ranked Gettysburg College. That game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

“I hope we just play like we did against (Elizabethtown),” said Trapp. “Any team is always a threat, and they're a good team, so it should be a good game, but I think our girls are up to the challenge.”