Falcons, Pezon Breeze Past University Of Chicago In Opener
Posted: 8/29/2008
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Sophomore midfielder Geoff Pezon recorded his first collegiate hat trick in Messiah's victory over the Maroons.

Wheaton, IL — A combination of relentless pressure and too much Geoff Pezon foiled any hopes of a University of Chicago upset Friday afternoon at Wheaton College, as Messiah College handed the Maroons a 5-1 defeat in the opening game of the Wheaton Bob Baptista Invitational.

The Falcons — ranked fourth in the NSCAA/Adidas NCAA Division III Pre-Season Top 25 — withstood an early rush of adrenaline from Chicago to eventually out-shoot their counterpart by a 26-3 difference, led by three scores off of six shots from Pezon.

His first collegiate hat trick, Pezon was only a facet of Messiah’s dominance, as the Falcons ran away with things following a 13-1 advantage in first-half shots for a 3-0 lead at the break.

“I thought we played well,” said Brad McCarty, Messiah assistant coach. “Chicago was organized defensively and attempted to apply pressure, and that affected our ability to maintain possession early. But as the first half wore on we began to press deeper and deeper in their half, and eventually we had some success.”

Pezon was the first to find the back of the net, taking the ball from a Chicago defender and placing a low shot past the U of C keeper’s right hand with just 15:47 elapsed in the contest. Just 34 seconds later, Messiah (1-0) had its second score of the year, as freshman Derek Black took a Pezon pass and blasted a left-footed shot to the near post from 16 yards out.

It was a bang-bang sequence that seemed to suck the life out of Chicago (0-1), while Messiah was nowhere near finished.

Black rattled a shot off the post just five minutes following his first collegiate score, and again the Falcons were pressuring. Chicago was able to stave off an insurance goal until just 5.1 seconds showed on the scoreboard, when junior Brett Faro took a feed from freshman Kent Ramirez and cut the ball to his left foot, beating the keeper.

If the Falcons’ first two scores had deflated Chicago, its final first-half tally was devastating.

“We moved the ball and passed the ball really well, especially considering it was the first time out for our younger guys,” McCarty said. “I thought that (younger) group played well. Obviously, Geoff was incredible with his scoring, but (sophomore) Nick Thompson controlled the midfield and we were able to possess the ball for the majority.”

Chicago’s only score came by virtue of a PK just over eight minutes into the second half, when senior and Chicago-area native JD Binger was whistled for a foul inside the box. Following a carom that sent the ball skyward, Binger lept in an attempt to head the ball out of trouble. He came down on the back of a Maroons’ defender, however, and the whistle blew.

U of C’s Stanton Coville was able to slip his free chance past junior keeper Jared Clugston at the game’s 53:48 mark.

It was a slight blemish on an otherwise brilliant Messiah performance, as Pezon made sure the crowd would remember his name over the final 13 minutes of play. Scores at the 77:38 and 82:35 points completed his hat trick, each of which seemingly topped the next: Pezon’s second goal of the night came off his right foot from 20 yards away, while his final was a left-footed rope from nearly 25 yards out.

“Geoff’s last two goals were both rockets,” McCarty said. “He hammered both of those balls from afar.”

Both Clugston and senior Nick Blossey manned the box for the Falcons, with Blossey picking up the team’s only save of the afternoon during his final 25 minutes in the net.

Messiah will face off against host Wheaton Saturday evening at 7 p.m. CST before catching a flight back to Grantham. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on WVMM.

“Tomorrow will be a big-time challenge against a very good team,” McCarty said. “It should be a very good test for our guys. You want to play good competition, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”