Messiah Surges Late, Upends #18/#12 Dickinson By 4-1 Count
Posted: 9/23/2009
Box Score | More Men's Soccer news
Sophomore Kent Ramirez got Messiah on the board with his first goal of the season, opening the floodgates against #18/#12 Dickinson.

By Travis Galaska, GoMessiah.com reporter
Carlisle, PA — When two teams who have seemingly dominated second-half play in every game of the season meet, it is sure to be a thriller for all in attendance.

Wednesday’s match-up between top-rated Messiah and #18/#12 Dickinson College did not disappoint.

Both teams shared great opportunities on goal throughout the match, but when the grass clippings finally settled, it was the Falcons who walked away victors on the evening. In the battle of the second-half teams, Messiah (7-0) poured on four goals in the last 24 minutes to bring a 4-1 win back home to Grantham from nearby Dickinson Park.

Ranked 18th in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll and 12th in the most recent D3soccer.com rating, it was Dickinson’s first loss of the season, while Messiah’s goal total equaled what the Red Devils had allowed on the year to date.

It didn’t appear that the Falcons — ranked atop both polls — would run away with things early, however, as in the first half both teams played equal-opportunity soccer. Although Messiah led the stat categories throughout both halves, one could easily make the case that the Red Devils had the best opportunities in the first half.

For the first 10 minutes of the game, the Falcons got off some quick shots and had Dickinson (6-1) back on their heels, with a header from junior Nick Thompson going just wide in the fourth minute, and Dickinson senior keeper James VanMeerbeke having to make a save on sophomore Kent Ramirez’s shot from close range on the end line moments later.

After that early spurt from the Falcons, it was the Red Devils who got in some good looks of their own. In the 18th minute, a Dickinson forward got around the Messiah defense on the left wing and got an open look inside the penalty box, sending a shot toward the opposite post. Senior keeper Jared Clugston was up to the task, however, diving to his left to push the ball wide. Ten minutes later, the same instance repeated itself, with Clugston making the save and causing the same result.

In the 31st minute, the Falcons got what was probably their best opportunity of the match. Sophomore Derek Black, making his first game appearance since an injury during the Messiah’s 2-1 overtime win over Christopher Newport University on Sept. 11, got an open run down the right side of the field. Turning in, Black was able to get the ball down on the end line inside the penalty box. He stopped and pulled the ball back off the line toward the center of the penalty box, where a rushing junior Mark Jeschke was able to get a brief open look. The shot was slightly rushed, however, and only managed to trickle on goal where VanMeerbeke was able to make the save.

With three minutes left in the half, the Red Devils nearly took a huge 1-0 lead going into halftime. With some nifty passing, the Dickinson forwards were able to get behind most of the Messiah defense, leaving them with a textbook two-on-one. The ball carrier made the pass from the left, top side of the penalty box to the right center, where Red Devils’ freshman forward Brad Boehringer gained control and a one-on-one with Clugston. Parkinson tried ripping a quick shot from 15 yards to his left back to the far post, but Clugston was cat-like in his reaction, sliding to his right and trapping the ball and making the best of his six saves on the night.

“(Dickinson) played a lot of dangerous balls,” said Messiah coach Brad McCarty. “They were tough to defend.

“We made an adjustment in our midfield,” said McCarty about the team’s halftime changes. “We are a very fit team with depth, and that showed itself in the second half.”

Did it ever on this evening.

The Falcons came out of the halftime break firing, putting their first good look on goal just two minutes in. Senior Josh Mull sent a ball to junior Geoff Pezon, who in turn sent the ball across the penalty box, where waiting senior Brett Faro put a shot just over the crossbar from the goal box. Just three minutes later, freshman JP Fulton sent a cross to the box from the right side, where Nick Thompson rose up and sent a header just over the crossbar again.

For the next 15 minutes, Messiah dominated possession in the offensive half of the field, but weren’t able to crack the Dickinson defense.

Not until the 67th minute, anyway.

At that moment, Ramirez again got a hold of the ball on the left side of the field. Closely marked by a Red Devils defender, he made a nifty dribble, slipped, got back on his feet and around the defender to get open inside the left edge of the penalty box. Seeing an opening, he sent a beautifully aimed, arcing shot that went around VanMeerbeke and struck the inside half of the far post, caroming into the opposite side of the net for a 1-0 Falcon lead.

For the Falcons this evening, good things came in pairs.

Merely one minute later, Jeschke gained possession in the left corner of the field and sent a cross into the center of the box. Freshman Joshua Wood lifted high into the air, out jumping the Devil defenders and striking the ball with a firm header. Wood pounded the ball seemingly straight down into the ground, where it bounded left away from the keeper and into the upper ninety for an instantaneous 2-0 lead.

“We play best when we stick to our fundamentals, use our width, switch fields, and stay disciplined,” McCarty said. “Aggressive discipline is what gets our best play.”

In the next five minutes, the Red Devils came roaring back, gaining two of their four corner kicks on the night, which were both cleared out by the Messiah defense. However, with the possession going back and forth in the center of the field, a ball was played backwards by the Messiah midfield. It took an odd bounce and skipped over the head of the last defender, leaving Dickinson senior midfielder Tyler Meade with a wide open blast from 25 yards that he sent firmly into the opposite side of the net, sending the Red Devil crowd into a roaring frenzy with 10 minutes left in the game.

No big deal for the Falcons.

Just over one minute later, it was Pezon who would provide the answer for the Falcons, in the form of a pair of goals of his own.

With Messiah doing fantastic work in their offensive zone once again, they were able to gain a corner kick of their own. When this corner was cleared over the end line after VanMeerbeke made a tremendous kick save, the Falcons were awarded another corner kick, this from the left side. Sophomore Trevor Lee sent a ball arcing into the box, where it fell into a mosh of Red Devil defenders and a few Messiah attackers. Somewhere, somehow, in all that mess, Pezon was able to touch the ball into the back of the net, making the lead 3-1 in favor of the Falcons once again.

Just 29 seconds later, Pezon would close the scorebooks for the night, taking hold of a failed clearance attempt by the Dickinson defense at the top center of the penalty box. He took one dribble toward the center of the box and blasted a rocket toward the right side of the net and in, leaving the Dickinson faithful in agony and completely wiping out any hopes of a comeback for the Devils.

“They came in (to Shoemaker) last year and took it to us,” said McCarty, referring to Messiah’s hotly contested 1-0 win on Sept. 24, 2008. “That might have been a game we didn’t deserve to win. That game really helped us prepare for tonight.”

The Falcons will have some time to savor Wednesday’s win, as the team gets its only idle weekend for the season. The Falcons will return to action next Tuesday, Sept. 29, when they host Geneva College at Shoemaker Field. Game time is set for 7 p.m.