Sixth-Ranked Shoremen Come Out Stronger; Take 10-5 Decision
Senior Greg Latimer had a busy day between the pipes, finishing with 20 saves.

Grantham, PA — A pair of early surges from visiting Washington College proved too much to overcome, as Messiah dropped a 10-5 contest in its 2009 home opener Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field.

The Shoremen — ranked sixth in the latest USILA Top 20 Poll — rattled off four goals to open the game and another four to start the second half, eventually claiming a 9-1 lead and never looking back.

“We played the sixth-ranked team in the country, we expected them to be good and they were,” said Geof Weisenborn, Messiah head coach. “We also had an expectation of we would look like, and I didn’t feel we matched their intensity early. If we would have, I believe it could have been a different game.”

Washington (3-0) utilized a patient offense and an aggressive face-off unit to control the pace of play at the outset, scoring goals at the 11:53, 7:30, 6:16 and 4:18 marks in the first quarter. Junior Brent Stewart got Messiah on the board off an assist from junior Nate Windon at the start of the second period, but another Shoremen goal with just 49 seconds to play in the half made it a 5-1 spread at the intermission.

That difference nearly ballooned to a 6-1 spread at the halftime horn, as Washington fired a 40-yard pass into its attacking third as the clock ticked toward zeroes. A Shoremen attack was there to rip the ball into the back of the net right at the buzzer, while game officials initially ruled the goal as good.

A brief caucus from the referees and the call was overturned, however, citing the ball did not enter the goal before the horn had sounded.

“We talked a lot about intensity at the half,” Weisenborn said. “We knew that they would use that disallowed goal as a reason to come out aggressively. We challenged our guys, but Washington came out and really attacked.”

The Shoremen scored the first four goals of the second half — only one came during a man-up situation — breaking the game open in a 9-1 score. Messiah (1-1) played its best lacrosse in the game’s final 23 minutes, registering three goals in the final 15 minutes of play to pull to the final margin. Baden scored twice and sophomore Pete Owens once in the final period, as Messiah narrowed the shot disparity to an 8-5 count in the final period (the Falcons were outshot by a total 60-20 disparity on the afternoon).

Stewart and Baden each scored a pair of goals in the loss, while sophomore J.J. Miller and senior Jeff Ziegler each dished out an assist. Miller finished seven of 15 in the face-off circle against Washington’s talented Thayer Damm (10 of 17). Senior goalie Greg Latimer played the entire game in cage, finishing with 20 total saves.

“When we get stops, we want to (clear) the ball out every time, and we’re not,” Weisneborn said. “When you play a team as good as Washington, you just can’t give them second and third opportunities. Whether it’s clears or loose balls, we just gave up too many second chances.

“We just have to get better,” he continued. “Ground balls, that’s about intensity. You have to be willing to put yourself in harm’s way. Early on today, we didn’t match Washington in that area. There were moments, but it just wasn’t sustained. If we could have come out with a little more determination and confidence, we would have given ourselves a better chance.”

Messiah will not have long to wait for its next home game, as the Falcons will serve as season-openers for Neumann College Saturday afternoon at Anderson Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

“That’s the good thing about playing a top team,” Weisenborn said. “They expose your weaknesses. We’re going to learn from this experience and use this game and build upon it. That’s how you do it. You can’t take too much time to sulk, because in the sport of lacrosse you practice for two days and get back on the field again. We’re going to get back at it.”