Falcons Finish What They Started; Drill Wheaton For National Title
Posted: 12/6/2008
Box Score | More Women's Soccer news
Seniors Rachel Horning, Kacie Klynstra and Brindley Beckwith used Saturday's result to bookend their careers with national championships.

Greensboro, NC – Heading into Saturday night’s NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship, the Messiah women’s soccer team had pressure coming from all angles.

Across the field, there was Wheaton College, winners of three of the last four national titles and the very program that denied Messiah’s bid for a national championship a year ago in a 1-0 defeat.

In the stands, there was the Messiah men’s soccer team, winners of the men’s national title earlier in the day. A women’s win would give the institution its second dual-championship in the sport, complementing the school’s 2005 feat.

After coasting through the first four games of this year’s NCAA Tournament by an average margin of four goals per, the biggest game of the year just had to be different for the Falcons.

Only it wasn’t.

Messiah convincingly ran the table on the entire NCAA field with a 5-0 pounding of Wheaton, the largest margin of victory in the 23-year history of the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship game. A 1-0 halftime lead ballooned to the final margin after a 21-7 advantage in total shots, as Messiah (24-0-2) collected its second national championship in program history.

“It is obviously very exciting to come away with a national title,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “Hats off to Wheaton. They’re a fantastic team, and they’re the team that you have to find a way to get through. They’re the two-time defending national champions. They know how to win. They don’t step on the field and hope something good happens.”

Something good nearly happened for Wheaton (22-4-2) early, as the Thunder opened the game with possession control and an attacking mindset. Frey’s club eventually settled into a rhythm of its own, but it was not before the Thunder nearly got on the board first. Following a Messiah foul on the left flank just outside of its own 18-yard box, Wheaton’s Lauren Moser curled a free kick to the far post. The Thunder’s Ali Kopelman was able to get her head on it, but senior goalkeeper Brindley Beckwith was able to snag the ball just inches off the goal line to avert disaster.

“People may look at the score and think the game wasn’t close, but it was very close for the most part,” Frey said. “I thought that save by Brindley was absolutely huge. When (Kopelman) got a head on it, I thought it was going in. When you think about that, how much different could the game have been?”

Sophomore and eventual Most Outstanding Player Erin Hench proved to be the game-changer, scoring two of Messiah’s first three goals and the team’s initial tally at the 27:44 mark. Following a cross from the left endline by junior Amanda Naeher, senior Kacie Klynstra made a run on the ball and attempted a shot from just outside the top of the 18-yard box. Her effort was immediately deflected by a Wheaton defender, only for the ball to land at Hench’s feet. The sophomore forward ripped a left-footed blast into the meat of the net, putting the Falcons up by a 1-0 count.

Things remained that way until Messiah’s parade of goals in the latter 45 minutes, a series that began 11 minutes in off the right foot of Klynstra. Classmate Rachel Horning made a run across the top of the box and played a through ball to Klynstra, who slipped behind the defense and touched the ball past Wheaton goalkeeper Ingrid Erickson from point-blank range.

Just eight minutes later, it was Horning going to work again, this time winning a ball following a Wheaton drop pass to Erickson. Erickson attempted to get the ball to an outside back, but Horning streaked in and won it, eventually crossing the ball to Hench who finished an easy two-on-one scenario.

When junior Amy Horst sent an absolute frozen rope into the right post, upper 90 off a free kick from 20 yards out with 10:16 to play, the celebration was on. Freshman Rachel Loya then finalized the scoring at the 80:50 mark, scoring a sliding goal to the far post off a nifty feed from Hench.

Following the game, Messiah’s total dominance was the talking point, as the Falcons held a Wheaton team that had scored 106 goals on the season to just seven shots. Conversely, Messiah finished its season with 119 goals, allowing its opponents just 99 total shots on the year.

“That’s our team, and that’s how we’ve played all season,” Frey said during Saturday’s post-game press conference. “We love to attack, and we’re very fortunate to have the people who can push up front. But the real thing about us is that we have people in the back who make it comfortable to do that. Our back row has made something look easy that’s not. Our front row gets all the accolades, but our back row was outstanding all season. But we work very hard defensively all over the field. To me, that’s the backbone of our program.”

Klynstra was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Defender, while Naeher and sophomore Katie Hoffsmith joined her and Hench on the all-tournament team. The complete all-tournament squad can be viewed at the host institution championship site.

“You can’t ask for anything better than this,” said Klynstra, who – along with Horning and Beckwith – was a part of Messiah’s 2005 national championship team. “It’s just an incredible experience. To be a senior and to come back here and win another one, I’m so thankful for the opportunity. It kind of goes without saying that I love Greensboro!”

Combined with the men’s championship, the Falcons’ women’s title gives the school its second dual-championship in soccer. Messiah is the only NCAA institution – regardless of level – to accomplish the feat.

“I felt a little pressure (going into our game), but it’s a good kind of pressure,” Frey said of the men winning their championship earlier in the day. “I’m not sure the girls felt pressure from that, however. I think they were excited by it. For me personally, you want to make the story come true.”

Frey said he was especially happy for his three seniors, as the class finished with a remarkable four-year record of 88-4-4.

“The best thing was that our seniors played their best soccer as seniors,” he said. “This was their night, their moment. They deserved it.”