GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Albright Lions field hockey team was unable to overcome a fast start from No. 5 Messiah as they fell 5-0 in MAC Commonwealth action on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Lions fall to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in MAC Commonwealth play. Meanwhile, the Falcons improve to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
Messiah scored on its first shot of the game just 2:47 into the contest to take the early 1-0 lead and continued to pressure the Lions early. The Falcons added to their lead in the eighth minute to make it 2-0 and would hold that lead into the second quarter. Messiah continued to use its momentum from the first quarter as they recorded three shots and earned two penalty corners in the first 1:30 in the second quarter. Lions junior goalkeeper
Adele Thomas stood tall during the Falcons rush as she kept the deficit at 2-0. The Falcons added one more goal in the first half in the 25
th minute to take a 3-0 advantage into halftime.
The Falcons wasted little time adding to their lead as they scored 55 seconds into the second half to go up 4-0. Messiah continued to pepper the Lions cage with shots but were unable to extend its lead further. Albright had its best chance to score in the contest in the 38
th minute when first-year
Chelsea Johnson and classmate
Lamya Mejias had back-to-back shots in front of the cage turned away by the Falcons. Messiah added their final goal of the game in the 51
st minute during the fourth quarter.
Mesiah held a sizable 26-2 advantage in shots and a 19-2 edge in shots on goal. The Falcons also held a 12-0 edge in penalty corners. Thomas made a career-high 10 saves in 52:40 minutes of action, and sophomore
Veronica Heckman made three saves in the final 7:20 of the contest. Falcons goalkeeper Catie Brubaker earned the win after making one save in 45 minutes of action. Jennie Young led Messiah with three points behind two goals and one assist.
Alrbight will return to action on Saturday, October 9
th as they will host York at 5 p.m. in MAC Commonwealth play.
