Falcons Use Another Batch Of Second-Half Offense To Win Again
Posted: 9/5/2009
Box Score | More Men's Soccer news
Sophomore Danny Thompson was a big part of the Falcons' latest second-half surge, scoring a goal and assisting another Saturday night.

By Travis Galaska, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA – It may be early in the season, but the Messiah men’s soccer team has certainly shown a tenacity for the second-half onslaught.

The Falcons scored all three goals in the second half on their way to a 3-0 blanking of the Fredonia State University Blue Devils at Shoemaker Field Saturday night, putting the team’s second-period composite scoring at seven goals — out of eight on the year.

Make no mistake, it is not for lack of chances that this is the case. Sophomore winger Derek Black, he of the hat-trick variety from Friday’s 5-0 win over Gordon College, nearly got the Falcons off to an early start in the game, beating a defender around the corner and getting inside the penalty box before ripping a shot right at Fredonia senior keeper Tom Cavanaugh, who deftly punched the ball away. Only nine minutes later, Black would flick a header on goal off a throw-in by junior Geoff Pezon, but Cavanaugh managed to get a hold of that one as well.

The rest of the half was marred by several offside calls against the Falcons — en route to five overall — as the Blue Devils were able to work their offside trap to near perfection. Even when the boys in white were able to connect on a through ball, the Fredonia State defense was up to the task of keeping the Falcons from getting any good looks on goal.

The best chance for the Falcons in the half may have come just minutes before the whistle sounded, as freshman forward JP Fulton sent a cross in from the right side, where junior Mark Jeschke was able to get a foot on the ball and send it on goal. That effort was neatly tipped wide right by a diving Cavanaugh, keeping the slate clean at the intermission.

It was only when the teams came back on the field for the second half that things started clicking for the Falcons. After a few more miraculous saves by Cavanaugh — who finished with seven on the night — it was junior Nick Thompson who again got the first tally for the Falcons. In the 59th minute with the Falcons possessing in the offensive third, senior defender Josh Mull took a pass along the left sideline and turned in towards the penalty box and played a nifty through pass to the feet of Pezon, who raced toward the endline to meet the ball. Catching up to it just in time before it went out, he sent a ball all the way across the goal box, where it met the foot of Thompson, who banged it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Falcon lead.

Once again, all that first half work had paid dividends.

“They did a good job of possessing the ball in our half during the first half,” said Brad McCarty, Messiah head coach, speaking of the Blue Devils. “It just looked like they were tired in that second half, and the offside trap lost some of its effectiveness because of that.”

The rest of the second half continued to be a showing of the Falcons’ offensive prowess. After a few more near-goals by the Messiah side, another Thompson joined in on the action. In the 28th minute, with the Falcons possessing the ball deep on the right side of the field, sophomore Danny Thompson sent a ball into the goal box, where it was redirected to the top of the box and to fellow sophomore Tom Renko. Renko hit a perfect one-timer of the ball rolling to him, blasting it low past the diving Fredonia keeper and into the bottom right corner of the net, making the score 2-0 in favor of the Falcons.

“It was great to get a goal from the second team,” said McCarty. “I’ve been asking for production from them and tonight they came through for us. Every goal affected Fredonia’s desire to work.”

With a minute left in the game, Danny Thompson sealed the scorebooks, hitting a shot from just inside the penalty box that Cavanaugh managed to get a piece of, but only directed it off the right post and into the net for a late insurance goal and a 3-0 Messiah victory.

With the win, Messiah moves to 2-0 after the back-to-back weekend, while Fredonia slips to 0-3 to end their long road trip. Messiah’s next round of games comes next weekend in Virginia, with another back-to-back set featuring a Friday night showdown against Christopher Newport University, the same CNU which suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to the Falcons less than a year ago in the NCAA sectional playoffs.

“Christopher Newport is gunning for us … we’ve been talking about that game a little bit,” said McCarty. “These opening two weekends definitely have a bit of an NCAA feel to them, with the back-to-back weekend games. It feels like we’ve just made it through to the next round.”