Back to Back!

The Messiah Women's soccer team concluded their 2009 season the same way they concluded their 2008 season, as National Champions."A common misconception is that it was easy for us to become champions the past two seasons, because [others] only see it from the outside looking in," says senior Amanda Naeher. "However, we are successful because of all of the hard work that we put into it."

On Saturday, December 5, the determined Messiah team concluded their season with a win over Washington University- St Louis 1-0, winning their second straight National Championship. They finished up a season that started three months ago with the grand prize.

The team played exceptionally well throughout the NCAA Tournament and headed into the tournament as the number one seed. Their run started at home against Farmingdale State University, on November 14th, with a dominating 6-1 win; goals came from senior Amy Horst, junior Joanna Haqq, freshman Corinne Wulf, and sophomore Rachel Loya, with two from senior Amanda Naeher. They followed that game with another win against Endicott College the very next day, resulting with a score of 1-0, when Naeher netted another goal, assisted by junior Erin Hench.

The weekend of November 21-22, the Falcons traveled to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for the NCAA Sectionals. There they met Otterbein College in what would arguably be their biggest test of the tournament. The game went into double overtime before Naeher, assisted by Hench, scored to give Messiah the victory. This gave Naeher an incredible four goals in three games.

The very next day Messiah played host Johns Hopkins of Maryland, a team they had beaten earlier this season. The Falcons cruised to a 3-1 victory, with two goals coming from Hench and another one added by Naeher. The win sent the team to the Final Four in San Antonio, giving them the chance to potentially go back to back.

The Falcons arrived in San Antonio for the National Semi-Finals ready to face the College of New Jersey. Messiah won with a score of 1-0; an unbelievable goal from junior Joanna Haqq gave the team their victory. A spot in the finals.

In the final, the Falcons concluded their season with a 1-0 victory, with the lone goal coming from whom else but Amanda Naeher, the leading scorer on the team and in the NCAA tournament.

Haqq later reflected on the team as a whole, "A huge contribution to the team success is our chemistry and love for one another," she says. "The loyalty and love this team shares allows for deeper fulfillment in everything: every nice pass, every goal, every win."

Erin Hench expanded on this idea, saying "During postseason, we play each game for the win itself but also for the chance to spend another week together. The more we win, the longer our season goes. The longer our season goes, the more days we get to spend with our sisters."

The Falcons concluded their season with an outstanding record of 25-0-1. At the beginning of the season Coach Frey said, "Our expectations are always to prepare and train as well as we possibly can so we can play at our highest level possible".

Haqq went on to say "Texas was not what we expected! It was colder, windier, and snowier than Pennsylvania, but, as Coach Frey would say, we came together and "solved it". That's another huge part of our team; we set aside discomfort and worries in order to get the job done. That's Messiah soccer."

The Falcons began their season playing at the highest level and ended their season the same way. It's time to celebrate Messiah!