Messiah College Downs Women’s Soccer in NCAA Division III Championship First Round

GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Elms College women's soccer team lost to Messiah College, 10-0 in Saturday afternoon's NCAA Division III Championship first round game at Shoemaker Field in Grantham, Pa.

With the loss, Elms concludes its season 10-6-4 overall, while Messiah (18-0-1) advances to the second round of the NCAA postseason tournament and will host the winner of Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) and Skidmore College on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. at Shoemaker Field.

Messiah drew first blood 5:26 into the contest when Lisa Wingard (Narvon, Pa.) fired a shot on a pass from Leah Sipe (Ephrata, Pa.) that was batted away by Elms' senior goalkeeper Kelly Callahan (Monson, Mass.) but passed back from the goaline by Wingard to Corinne Wulf (Columbus, Ohio) who finished with a goal in the lower right corner. Sipe and Winard recorded assists on the play.

The Falcons added to their lead in the 20^th minute of play when Erin Hench (Carlisle, Pa.) took a through ball from Wulf and deposited the ball in the right side of the net to set the score at 2-0.

Two minutes later, the pair connected again, this time Wulf on the receiving end of a Hench feed from the end line and slotted the ball into the right corner of the net to extend the advantage to 3-0 at the 22:13 mark of the opening stanza.

Hench notched her second goal of the game in the 29^th minute when she corralled a cross by Ashley Locke (Cincinnati, Ohio) from 30 yards out and scored in the right corner to increase the lead to 4-0.

With 30 seconds left in the opening frame, Lauren Federline (Finksburg, Md.) delivered a pass to Rachel Scheibeler (Montoursville, Pa.) who scored on a breakaway with a finish to the left side of the net to give the Falcons a 5-0 lead at intermission.

Two minutes into the second half, Alex Brandt (Annapolis, Md.) scored an unassisted goal from the top of the 18-yard box to set the score at 6-0.

In the 54^th minute Wulf scored a hat trick on an assist from Hench. One minute later, Hench scored her third of the contest to give Messiah an 8-0 lead.

Elms, which was held without a shot for the entire contest, put together a string of good runs led by senior forwards Jennifer Killion (Cambridge, Mass.) and Erica Griffo (Syracuse, N.Y.) but could not capitalize with a shot on target.

The Falcons' ninth score came in the 63^rd minute when Jessica Shirk (Harrisburg, Pa.) scored on a cross from Bridgette Dolio (Stratford, Conn.) to increase the lead to 9-0.

With 19:21 remaining in the game, Kelsey Gorman (Manheim, Pa.) recorded Messiah's 10^th goal on an assist by Regina Stump (Bethel, Pa.).

"I couldn't be prouder of these girls," said head coach Kevin Meek. "To get into the NCAA's for the first time is a great experience. These girls played their hearts out, especially in the last few weeks to get us here."

"We wanted to play our hearts out," added Callahan, who finished with a season-high 15 saves on the day. "They really attack well, especially on crosses. We have a taste of this tournament, so we'll look forward to hopefully getting back next year."

Hench and Wulf finished with three goals each to highlight six players to score a goal for the Falcons.