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Hampden-Sydney Gets Final Goal In See-Saw Battle
Posted: 3/29/2008
Box Score | More Men's Lacrosse news
Freshman J.J. Miller scored three goals and came up with five ground balls, but it wasn't enough in the end.

Hampden-Sydney, VA — Saturday’s men’s lacrosse game at Hampden-Sydney College was either too long or not lengthy enough for the Messiah College faithful, although there will most likely never be a clear consensus:

After a back-and-forth game that saw Messiah (3-4, 1-0) tie the score at 6-6 with 1:42 to play, it was the host Tigers that laughed last, tacking on the game-deciding point with just 41 seconds to play.

Even that wasn’t a deal-breaker, however, as the Falcons won the ensuing face off and called a timeout with just over 30 seconds to play.

Messiah’s final shot on goal was saved by Hampden-Sydney goalie Phil Hage, however, and Messiah had dropped a heartbreaking, 7-6 decision on the road.

“Even though we were disappointed with the result, we felt good about how we played,” said Geof Weisenborn, Messiah head coach. “We were facing a good team and it was an all-out battle from the start. Neither team could pull away from the other, and that’s just how the game went.”

As the team’s overall records mirrored the equality of the contest — Hampden-Sydney finished the day with a 3-4 win-loss mark as well — things could not have been much closer. Messiah got on the board first via an unassisted score from freshman J.J. Miller, only for Hampden-Sydney to respond with a pair of goals over the first quarter’s final seven and a half minutes.

Miller then tacked on a last-second goal with just seven seconds to play in the first period, setting up a trend that would last the remainder of the game: For the next 45 minutes of play, Messiah and the host Tigers would alternate single scores.

Miller’s third goal of the day came with just eight seconds remaining in the first half, as that score negated a tally from Hampden-Sydney’s Thomas Hovis just 50 seconds earlier.

Things didn’t change much in the second half of play, as senior Tim Sandusky responded after another Tigers’ goal early in the third. Sophomore John Murdock answered yet another Hampden-Sydney score at the 5:36 mark in the third, while Sandusky came up with Messiah’s final reply with just 1:42 to play in the game.

Hampden-Sydney won just its seventh face off of the game on the ensuing opportunity, however, setting up a deep shot from the Tigers’ Kyle Jett just a minute later. Jett acted like he was going to dodge, then pulled back and fired a shot to the opposite hip of senior goalie Ted Oberg, who narrowly missed collecting the save.

“I really thought we played (Hampden-Sydney’s last possession) well,” Weisenborn said. “They took a shot that, for the most part, we’re willing to give up. (Jett) converted a shot that Teddy probably stops 90 percent of the time. It was just a really good effort from a tough angle.”

Not willing to give up, Messiah collected the next face-off and pushed the ball upfield. Following a timeout from Weisenborn, the Falcons served the ball into the crease and got off a quality look, only for the Tigers’ Hage to come up with a crucial save.

For Weisenborn and company, time had run out.

“We executed our stuff well and we put ourselves in a position to win,” Weisenborn said. “While we were disappointed afterward, we were pleased with how we played.”

Miller finished with a team-best three goals on nine shots, while Sandusky scored two off of eight chances. Oberg, sophomore Brent Stewart and junior Jeff Ziegler all scooped seven ground balls, while Stewart finished six for 10 in face offs. Miller was three of six.

Collectively, Messiah out-shot Hampden-Sydney by a 41-31 count, scooped 10 more ground balls (46 to 36) and was more efficient in clears (17 of 23 compared to the Tigers’ 18 of 28). The Falcons also scored twice in six extra-man opportunities, compared to zero from the hosts in just one chance.

“If you look at the stats we won every category, but we didn’t finish our opportunities as well as we needed to,” Weisenborn said. “Either their goalie made a nice save, or we just didn’t position our shots in the right place. I do think that this type of game is a good experience for our guys, however. I can only hope it will help us in close games down the road.”

Messiah will not have to wait long for its next opportunity, as the team will host Ursinus College Wednesday. Game time is set for 4 p.m.