
For Immediate Release - 9/19/09 - #033
#13 Lynchburg Hangs Tough With #1 Messiah to a 1-1 2OT Tie
LYNCHBURG, VA - Thirteenth ranked Lynchburg College and #1 ranked Messiah College fought through 110 minutes of soccer, yet neither team was able to pull out a victory as the clash of Top 25 teams ended in a 1-1 double overtime tie on Saturday afternoon.
Messiah came into the contest having allowed just 18 shots in six games and two goals en route to a 6-0 record. Lynchburg, however, didn't prove to be intimidated by the Falcons and looked every bit as good as the reigning national champions as the Hornets took it to the Falcons from the get go in a clash of perennial national powers.
The Hornets recorded the first three shots of the game and Joanie Snyder barely missed putting the Hornets on board at the 9:28 mark as her shot barely went wide of the net. Messiah did not fire off a shot for the first 10 minutes of the game and was denied what was surely to be a goal before Katelyn LeRiche (Guilford, CT/Guilford) blocked the shot for the team save. Messiah would not be denied and was able to draw the first goal of the contest as Jessica Shirk put the ball in the back of the net off a pass from Katie Hoffsmith.
Shelley Hoath (Alexandria, VA/Mount Vernon) continued her impressive start to the season in the 57th minute as she pocketed the game-tying score off a Jessica Gonzalez (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) helper. Each team had a few chances to end the game in regulation, but strong goalie play and timely blocked shots forced the game into overtime.
Defense continued to be the name of the game in the first overtime as Messiah only fired off one shot while holding the Hornets to zero shots. The trend continued into the second overtime with Messiah recording just three shots. The game changing play occurred with less than two minutes left as Anna Wright (Ashland, VA/Patrick Henry) made a diving save to the right to prevent the Falcons from notching the golden goal.
The box score backs up what many saw on the field - both squads looked as evenly matched as they could be. Messiah (6-0-1) recorded 15 shots to 14 for Lynchburg (3-1-2) while the Hornets had six corner kicks to three for the Falcons. Messiah keeper Autumn Reilly posted seven saves while Wright had five stops for the Hornets.
Lynchburg hosts Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) foe Guilford College on Wednesday, September 23, at 7 p.m.
###