Messiah Finishes Season as National Runner-up
Posted: 11/26/2008
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Messiah completed their 2007 season as the National Runner-up falling to Wheaton, IL 1-0 in the NCAA Division III National Championship game.  The Thunder (27-0) and Falcons (23-1) were a fitting final as both teams were ranked #1 and #2 respectively for the majority of the 2007 season.  They were the last two unbeaten teams in the country as the match began at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Messiah's defense was strong against a very explosive Thunder attack that had scored over 100 goals on the year.  Anchored by the hard work of All-Tournament team member Kacie Klynstra and goal keeper Brindley Beckwith the Falcons defense kept Wheaton from many real dangerous threats.  The Thunder made the most of a break in the 43rd minute when a short Messiah clear came to the foot of Jami Herrmann on the ride side of the penalty area and her blast found the side netting at the far post just beyond the finger tips of Beckwith.  Messiah had missed on a great opportunity mid-way through the first half when Stef Rowe found Erin Hench running in alone through the box but Hench's attempt was saved by the Thunder's Kristin Eggert.

The second half continued the high energy play as Messiah attempted to push for the equalizer but Wheaton's defense was equal to the task on all accounts.  The Falcons then pushed an extra player forward in the last ten minutes making it a three versus three match-up in the back for the Messiah defense.  The risk almost paid off when an effort on the right side got played into the box and caught the Wheaton goalie out of position but Rowe's volley effort went just over the bar.  The Falcons last good chance came with under two minutes to go when Emily Cope got free at the top of the 18 and struck a hard shot to the top right side, only to have Eggert snare it out of the air.  The win gave Wheaton their second straight crown following Messiah's national title in 2005.

Messiah advanced to the final game with a 2-0 win over #3 The College of New Jersey (21-1-1).  The face off by the Falcons and Lions in the semi-final was a rematch of the 2006 semifinal and the 2005 final.  These two teams have faced each other six times now in NCAA Tournament play over the past eight years.  TCNJ's defensive pressure shut down the Messiah offense for the first 20-25 minutes of the game as the Falcons struggled to push the ball beyond mid-field.  However, in the 19th minute Emily Cope sprung Joanna Haqq in with a pass behind the Lion defense on the right side.  Haqq dribbled at the near post looking for someone to drop a pass to but could not find anyone and took a shot of her own.  The Lions keeper, Jessica Clarke, made the save but the rebound came back to Haqq and she roofed her shot into the net for a 1-0 lead for Messiah.  Though TCNJ had the better of field position in the half the Falcon defense limited the Lion's to very few good chances.  Messiah goalie Beckwith was huge in the air and snared several crosses and corners that were played into the area snuffing out any chances through the air. 

In the second half the field open up a bit more as TCNJ was forced to push forward and Messiah began to play a bit more behind the Lion back line to open up the field.  In the 64th minute a hustle effort by Amanda Naeher on a ball rolling back to the keeper and being shielded by a defender turned into confusion by the Lion's and the clear attempt hit Naeher and bounced to Erin Hench who was following the play and she was able to tuck the ball into an open TCNJ goal giving Messiah a bit more breathing room.  At this point TCNJ pushed the attack even harder on their offensive end that left them a bit open in the back and Messiah had 2-3 great chances to make the score 3-0 but Jessica Clarke came up big each time to hold the score line at 2-0.  The shut-out was the 18th of the year for keeper Brindley Beckwith and the Falcons and earned them a spot in the Championship game for the third time in the program's history.

Senior Stef Rowe and juniors Kacie Klynstra and Rachel Horning were named to the All-Tournament team. 

The five Messiah seniors; Avie Fitzgerald, Corrie Jones, Heather Kemp, Jennifer Myhre, and Stef Rowe finished their outstanding careers by competing in four consecutive NCAA Final Fours.  They earned a National Championship ring in 2005 and were National Runner-up in 2007.  They leave Messiah with a career record of 83-5-4 and an NCAA Tournament record of 13-3-3.