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Team Fights Off DeSales On Road, Heads To MAC Playoffs Unbeaten
Messiah head coach Geof Weisenborn has guided his team to 26 straight regular-season league victories. He'll be looking to advance the program to its fifth straight MAC Championship appearance this week.

Center Valley, PA — It may have come with some trepidation, but the Messiah College men’s lacrosse team successfully recorded its second consecutive undefeated mark in MAC Conference regular-season play Saturday, taking an 11-8 decision at DeSales University.

With no post-season implications on the line for either squad, Messiah (10-5, 7-0) had to fight off an emotional run from DeSales (7-9, 2-5) at the conclusion of the third quarter, witnessing an 8-2 lead trimmed all the way to an 8-8 score.

Some timely goals from senior Nick Ricucci and a solid defensive play saved the day for the Falcons, however, earning the program its 26th consecutive regular-season league win.

“DeSales had a very good game plan coming into the game, and we had too many penalties,” said Geof Weisenborn, Messiah head coach. “They took advantage of some defensive miscues on our part, and they played a great game.

“We were fortunate to get out of here with a win.”

Messiah looked to have total control of the contest early, leading by a 5-2 score at halftime and by the aforementioned 8-2 lead with 10:33 to play in the third quarter. Junior Jeff Ziegler began the scoring at the 12:47 mark of the first quarter, while freshman J.J. Miller started a 4-0 Falcons’ run with just 1:52 remaining in the first half. Sophomore John Murdock added another tally with 14:16 to play in the third, while Ricucci and Ziegler tacked on scores at the 11:14 and 10:33 marks.

Messiah possessed a 20 to nine advantage in total first-half shots while scooping 21 ground balls to DeSales’ 13 in the game’s first 30 minutes.

The Bulldogs were not done on their senior day, though.

DeSales’ went on a 6-0 run that stretched the final 9:20 of the third period before a score at the fourth quarter’s 10:50 point tied the game at 8-8, with half of the Bulldogs’ scores coming in man-up opportunities. Messiah committed six penalties for a total 4:30 worth of penalty time, though three of those infractions occurred during DeSales’ run.

The Bulldogs actually had another man-up situation following its game-tying score, but Messiah’s man-down defense came up with a crucial save.

Needing a change of momentum, Ricucci delivered.

The senior attack buried his fourth and fifth goals of the game with just 10:18 and 8:55 remaining, both coming off assists from Murdock. Murdock then added an insurance goal with 6:48 to play, taking a beautiful feed from senior Tim Sandusky and placing a shot past the waistline of DeSales’ keeper Jarryd Stamatelos.

“Credit DeSales for taking advantage of opportunities and making a serious run,” Weisenborn said. “But credit goes to our guys, too, for the way we responded. We stayed composed in the midst of some pretty tense adversity, and that was good to see.”

Weisenborn’s group finished with a 42 to 24 advantage in total shots, but DeSales’ ability to stay close in the face-off game (Messiah won 12 of 23) kept them in the mix.

Ricucci finished with five goals on eight shots, while Murdock had three scores and a game-high four assists. Miller finished 7 for 11 in the face-off X, while collecting a team-leading eight ground balls.

Already guaranteed the MAC Playoffs’ number one seed at the day’s outset, Messiah will now host Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham in one of the MAC Semi-Finals Wednesday. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Anderson Field. Lycoming College will host Widener University in the other semi-final.

Messiah will be looking to advance to its fifth straight MAC Championship game, as the program has successfully appeared in all title contests since the 2004 season. This season is the second straight year Messiah has gone into the post-season as the league’s top seed.

“The regular-season is out the window,” Weisenborn said, “and now it’s a one-game season. FDU is a very good team that gave us a very tough game here (in the regular season). They’re athletic and very dangerous. We’ll need to give it our best.”