Second-Ranked Messiah Handles Lightning, Visiting Bethany
Posted: 9/27/2008
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Sophomore Geoff Pezon got around the Bethany defense for two scores - bringing his season total to 12.

Grantham, PA — A 30-minute lightning delay apparently energized the second-ranked Messiah College men’s soccer team Saturday night, as the Falcons scored five second-half goals en route to a 6-0 win over visiting Bethany College at Shoemaker Field.

A rainy, humid evening was met by occasional claps of thunder throughout the first half, causing game officials to extend halftime by 30 minutes in hopes of letting the unsettled weather pass. The skies cleared as play resumed, as did the path to Bethany’s cage: Messiah (8-0-1) scored its highest amount of goals in any period this season, tacking on three in a six-minute span for its fifth straight shut-out win.

“I thought we effectively wore them down,” said Dave Brandt, Messiah head coach. “They may have had a little trouble coming out after the break. I thought we did a good job of maintaining pressure, and as a result were eventually able to get through.”

Winners of the 1994 NCAA Division III National Championship, Bethany (0-8-1) entered Saturday’s contest dealing with recent struggles. Those troubles came primarily on the offensive end of the field, as the Bison had scored just five goals in eight games coming in, all while holding their opponents to singular scores on three different occasions.

That defensive mentality was evident from the opening tap of Saturday’s affair, as Bethany seemed poised to remain in its back third of the pitch, looking for the occasional counter attack.

Bethany successfully defended 11 first-half shots from Messiah, though sophomore Geoff Pezon was able to break through at the 11:19 mark to put his team on the board. junior Josh Mull sent a ball into the box that Pezon blasted into the bottom of the crossbar, causing the ball to bounce violently off the turf and back into the top of the net.

That would be the only chance that broke the plane for Brandt’s club in the first 45 minutes, however, as Bethany showed staunch resolve in clearing seven first-half corner kicks as well.

“They were very well organized in the back and came here with a plan to defend,” Brandt said. “They made it tough on us in the first half.”

Following the extended intermission where all 1,700-plus fans were cleared from the Shoemaker Field stands, things changed dramatically. A Bethany own goal just 12 minutes in started the surge, as freshman Derek Black sent a beautiful cross along the baseline that was deflected by a defender into the Bison’s net at the 57:07 clip.

“That was a great cross from Derek with two guys crashing on the back side,” Brandt said. “It was good for us to get in on a great situation. We put Bethany’s defense in a very tough situation. There was not much (their defender) could do standing on his own two (-yard line).”

The proverbial floodgates opened for Messiah following that blow, as Brandt’s club tacked on three more goals over the game’s next six minutes and 38 seconds. A rebound goal from senior Matt Dorsey resulted off a shot from sophomore Sean Cunningham banging off the crossbar at 62:14, while Pezon carded his team-leading 12th goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Nick Thompson at the 67:26 mark.

When freshman Tom Renko nearly sent a ball through the net at the 68:56 mark — his shot was an all-out rocket from 25 yards away — the score was 5-0 Messiah.

“If a team is really focused on being organized defensively, if you get a couple goals you’re going to affect them,” Brandt said.

Freshman Danny Thompson concluded the goal scoring at the 76:10 mark, taking a cross from sophomore Keaton Kasiguran for his second collegiate score.

As Brandt emptied his bench, the game’s statistics were nearly as lopsided as the final score: Messiah out shot Bethany by a 30-2 difference, registering 14 corner kicks to the Bison’s one.

“Before the game, we told our guys that it was important for us to respect three things,” Brandt said. “One, we wanted to respect the game of soccer. You may dominate your opponent, but you may not put scores up. That’s happened to us a number of times. Two, you have to respect Bethany. This is a program that’s gone to the NCAA Tournament 19 times and has a national championship to its credit. Third was respecting the standard that we aspire to play to all the time. I thought we kept those thoughts in mind throughout the game tonight.”

Messiah will next enjoy a rare full week off, as the team will remain idle until next Saturday when MAC Commonwealth foe Widener University visits Shoemaker to open league play. Game time is set for 7 p.m. under the lights.