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MESSIAH UNIVERSITY FIELD HOCKEY CAMP

MESSIAH UNIVERSITY FIELD HOCKEY CAMP

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4

Nov, 2023

Falcons Claim 16th Straight Conference Title in 1-0 Thriller Against York

GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah University Field Hockey team won its 16th straight and 29th total Conference Championship in program history. The Falcons defeated the second-seeded York Spartans, 1-0 in a thrilling defensive battle on Saturday afternoon. Nicole Shank scored the lone goal in the game from Jenna Lutz to give the Falcons an early lead. Some excellent defense from the Falcons and some timely saves from Catie Brubaker held the Spartans scoreless. 
 
First Quarter
The Falcons started the strong on the offensive end. In the seventh minute, Madi Johnson forced a bad pass that forced an Aubrey Clark steal. Clark gathered the ball and sent a shot towards the net, but the York goalkeeper made a sliding save to keep the game scoreless. The Falcons continued on the attack in the 10th minute with a penalty corner opportunity. Jenna Lutz sent the ball to the top of the circle to Nicole Shank. Shank wound up and ripped a shot that went through a crowd of defenders and into the back of the goal to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Second Quarter
The Spartans were not prepared to go away without a fight. In the 19th minute, the York offense earned a penalty corner opportunity. After the corner was put into play Hannah Huffman got a great look on goal, but Catie Brubaker made an impressive save to keep the Falcons lead. The Spartans though quickly earned another corner opportunity that same minute. This time, Katie Martino ripped a shot that just went wide of the bottom-right corner. The York offense continued to put pressure on the Falcons, but Messiah's offense had a great opportunity to score in the 28th minute. Kelsey Heltzel sent a shot from the top of the circle, but the shot was saved. Off of the rebound, Carrie Bair sent another shot and this time the York goalkeeper made a sliding stop to keep the Spartans within one goal at the half.
 
Third Quarter
The Falcons offense came out of the half looking for another goal to pad their 1-0 lead. After a York turnover, Lillian Peters sent a pass that was tipped off the stick of Aubrey Clark to Mallory Kline. Kline got an open look near the top of the circle and ripped a shot towards the goal, but again the York goalkeeper stood tall. After some great defensive play from both teams, the Falcons earned a penalty corner opportunity in the 41st minute. Jenna Lutz sent the ball into play and the ball found Kelsey Heltzel. Heltzel ripped a shot that looked like it was going into the bottom-left corner of the goal, but the ball hit post and out to keep the score at 1-0. The York offense continued to push the pace in the 44th minute. Olivia Miller got a shot that Catie Brubaker got a pad on to keep the Falcons 1-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
The fourth was dominated by the Falcons defense. The Falcons defense did not allow a single York shot, even when York was pushing the pace throughout the quarter. The Falcons offense did enough to keep possession with four penalty corner attempts, but all of those opportunities were shut down by the York defense.
 
Stats
Nicole Shank scored the lone goal for the Falcons. After the game, Shank was awarded the MAC Commonwealth Tournament MVP for her stout defense and game-winner in the MAC Commonwealth Championship Game. Jenna Lutz tallied an assist on the Shank goal. Both defenses played well with Messiah recording 10 shots and York tallying five. The Falcons had five shots on goal to the Spartans two. Catie Brubaker earned the win in goal for the Falcons and made two saves.
 
Next
With the MAC Commonwealth Championship, the Falcons earned an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Messiah will find out their seed and location of their next game during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 10:30 p.m. Falcon fans can watch the selection show on the NCAA website.

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Messiah University Field Hockey Camp
 University Avenue, Suite 4501
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055

Phone: 717-766-2511
Email: [email protected]

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