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Hench, Messiah Make Move Late In 3-1 Win Over Muhlenberg
Posted: 9/17/2008
Box Score | More Women's Soccer news
Sophomore Erin Hench broke free to blow the game open Wednesday night against Muhlenberg.

Grantham, PA — A pair of late scores from sophomore Erin Hench helped third-ranked Messiah outlast visiting Muhlenberg College Wednesday night, as the Falcons claimed a 3-1 win following a frenetic second half of action.

Messiah (6-0-1) out shot the visiting Mules by a 33-3 difference and rang up 15 corner kicks to Muhlenberg’s singular effort, but it wasn’t until Hench scored twice — with under 10 minutes remaining — that a 1-1 tie ballgame was settled.

“This was a good win against a good team,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “Muhlenberg came in here winning five in a row, feeling good about themselves and ready to give us a game. They certainly did.”

A scoreless first half of play was statistically dominated by Frey’s club, as Messiah registered 12 first-period shots to Muhlenberg’s two. Still, Frey believed adjustments were in order at the intermission.

“We controlled the tempo of play in the first half for the most part, but I felt we were never really dangerous,” Frey said. “We had a tough time getting through for any good looks. We decided to make some tactical changes at halftime, and those paid off for us almost immediately.”

Frey was not exaggerating. Hench nearly scored a goal literally four seconds into the second half, taking the opening tap and firing a missile from just inside of midfield, requiring a diving save from Mules’ keeper Kate Morrissey.

One of the Falcons’ 10 second-half corner kicks did the trick just four and a half minutes into the stanza, however, as senior Rachel Horning sent a gorgeous serve into the box at the 49:20 mark. Junior Amanda Naeher was there to head the ball into the back of the net, far post, for her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Finally breathing a collective sigh of relief, Messiah’s tranquility did not last long. Muhlenberg (5-1) made use of a Falcons’ error in the backfield just over six minutes later, scoring an unassisted tally at the 55:54 mark to knot things up 1-1.

“(After we scored), I thought that we needed to settle the game a bit, keep making good decisions and eventually put it away,” Frey said. “(Muhlenberg) played a ball into the box that we didn’t handle very well, and they took advantage.”

Frey’s subsequent coaching maneuvers would reveal he was expecting a lengthy battle. Messiah subbed liberally over the next 20 minutes, giving Hench — among others — lengthy respites.

Those moves made Frey prophetic in the final 10 minutes of play, as Hench re-entered and promptly scored the game winner at the 80:08 mark. As sophomore Joanna Haqq got around the right corner, she slipped a drop back to Hench. The lanky forward missed on a shot opportunity, only for the ball to roll back to Naeher. Naeher then fired a shot, but that effort was redirected to Hench’s feet.

Hench then rifled a blast past Morrissey, getting the touch off moments before a defender slid into her feet.

The Falcons secured an insurance goal just 1:01 later, as Haqq won a ball out of the air in the midfield. Her redirect wound up being the perfect lead for Hench, beginning soccer’s version of the fastbreak: Hench dribbled down the entire length of Muhlenberg’s half, outrunning the Mules’ last defender before beating Morrissey with a tap to the far post.

“Was I concerned?” Frey asked of the late 1-1 score. “I was really concerned. Goals are hard to come by in this sport. We had a number of really good looks tonight, but we couldn’t pound one through. Give Muhlenberg a lot of credit. They didn’t fold, they didn’t stop playing, and they were rewarded for that. This was a very tough one for us.”

Frey credited his bench following the win, citing another case of his team winning the game of attrition.

“Erin found a way to get two, but our ability to maintain our energy was big,” he said. “When we subbed, we kept the pace of play. When we came back with our other group late, those fresh legs were key. We were able to stick with it. Winning is hard.”

It gets no easier for Messiah — which fell only slightly in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll — as the Falcons will host 2001 and 2002 national champion Ohio Wesleyan University Saturday. OWU defeated Messiah by a 1-0 score to win the ’02 title, the Falcons’ first trip to the Final Four.

Saturday’s game is set for a 1 p.m. start at Shoemaker Field.