Messiah Returns Home Following 2-0 Win At St. Mary's
Posted: 9/20/2008
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Freshman Tom Renko scored his second goal of the season Saturday at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

St. Mary’s City, MD — A nearly four-hour trip to the southern coast of Maryland did little to deter the Messiah College men’s soccer team Saturday afternoon, as the Falcons handed St. Mary’s College of Maryland a 2-0 defeat at Seahawk Stadium.

Messiah — ranked third in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — blasted 26 shots on the Seahawks’ end of the field while claiming a 6-2 advantage in total corner kicks, collecting the team’s third consecutive shut out and fourth on the young season.

“I thought we played well today, but we need to do a better job of finishing our chances,” said Dave Brandt, Messiah head coach. “To get 26 shots and only two goals, that’s a bit of a discrepancy.”

Freshman Tom Renko put Messiah (6-0-1) on the board just over 22 minutes into play, scoring his second collegiate goal via a header by way of a serve from freshman Derek Black. Black crossed the ball from the right side of the field and found Renko perched directly atop the penalty kick marker, whipping his head around for a score at the game’s 22:31 mark.

As Messiah controlled the majority of possession, its second score would not come until just 56 seconds into the second half. It was at that point that senior Matt Dorsey took a cross from freshman Danny Thompson and fired a shot into the high right corner of the net, allowing the visitors a bit more breathing room. Waiting to receive the ball at the far post, it was Dorsey’s first score of the season.

“We made a few adjustments at halftime, so to score less than one minute in was nice,” Brandt said. “The frustrating part was not being able to add anything else onto it. I thought we dominated (the possession game), it was just a question of scoring goals. They were organized defensively and made it difficult for us. They made sure they had numbers behind the ball. We took care of business, but it would have been nice to finish off a few more of our opportunities.”

Freshman Trevor Lee recorded a team-high six shots in the win, while sophomore Geoff Pezon complemented that number with four of his own. With over a third of the Falcons’ regular-season matches completed, Brandt finds three freshmen and two sophomores (Pezon (9), Lee (3), freshman Derek Black (3), Renko (2) and sophomore Nick Thompson (2)) comprising his multiple-goal scoring contingent.

“Our young players have had to learn quickly this year because we’ve leaned on them for major contributions,” Brandt said. “They’ve done very well, but the wheel is still in spin.”

Messiah does get the luxury of a five-game homes stand up next, as Dickinson College will visit Shoemaker Field Wednesday night.

“(Playing at home or on the road) really doesn’t matter,” Brandt said. “For us it’s a matter of the next opponent, which in this case is Dickinson, who’s having a very good year.”

Kick off with the Red Devils — winners of their last six games — is slated for 7 p.m.