Messiah Handles Albright In Commonwealth Opener, 5-0
Posted: 10/3/2009
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Senior Emily Cope was one of five Falcons to score against Albright.

Reading, PA — A 32-2 advantage in shots and a 13-1 disparity in corner kicks guided Messiah to its fourth consecutive win Saturday, as the squad opened Commonwealth Conference play with a 5-0 dismantling of host Albright College.

Ranked atop the latest NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 Poll and second in the D3soccer.com rating, Messiah (10-0-1, 1-0) used a methodical possession game to run past Albright (3-6-1, 0-1) in nearly every facet, boasting five different goal scorers for perhaps its most balanced act of the season to date.

“I thought we played a very disciplined, organized game tonight,” said Scott Frey, Messiah head coach. “Sometimes, when you physically overmatch an opponent, you can fall back into bad habits. We did not do that tonight.”

Frey’s club got ahead of the Lions before the sun had begun to set at Gene L. Shirk Stadium, as senior Amy Horst ran through a cross from classmate Emily Cope just 3:10 into the ballgame. Operating on the right side, Cope sent a low ball into the box, finding the feet of a streaking Horst just six yards off the end line.

Horst then one-touched the ball just moments before Albright sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Giuliano was able to get to it, putting the Falcons on the board with a 1-0 lead.

Junior Erin Hench was responsible for Messiah’s second goal just over 16 minutes later, outrunning the entire Albright back line following a long serve from sophomore Kelsey Gorman.

While Hench’s finish was not the most artistically pleasing — she fired her first shot directly to Giuliano … and her second following an initial deflection — the Carlisle, Pa. native was able to make the third shot count, sending a bounding ball into an empty net after a bang-bang-bang sequence with Albright’s backstop 12 yards off the end line.

Holing a 15-1 lead in total shots and a 6-0 advantage in corners at the half, Messiah would tack on its three final scores in the concluding 45 minutes of play, again starting the half with a surge: Hench found sophomore Leah Sipe on a cross-turned-goal at the 51:35 mark, while a violent header from senior Amanda Naeher capped off a corner kick from Horst with 67:11 elapsed.

When senior Emily Cope sent a left-footed looper above Albright replacement goalkeeper Keeley Peltz with seven and a half minutes remaining, it was but merely a bonus. Cope finished for the second time of the year, giving sophomore Lisa Wingard her second assist of the season.

“We talked a lot about having a plan and a purpose before tonight’s game, and I thought we found seams with the ball and executed a lot of the things we had discussed,” Frey said. “I also thought that (junior defender) Molly Bletz was fantastic, especially in the first half. I normally don’t call people out, but she was just great for us, winning everything in the air and serving great balls.”

Messiah will continue a three-game road swing next, as the team returns to out-of-conference play Wednesday at Eastern University. The Falcons are set to meet up with the Eagles at 4 p.m.