Boxscore

GLASSBORO, N.J. – Despite a tremendous effort from senior keeper Ali Bromson (Suffield, Conn.), NSCAA/HendrickCars.com #1 Messiah College defeated the Manhattanville women's soccer team by a 4-0 score in the first round of the NCAA Div. III Championship, held on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Rowan University Soccer Field.

Despite the score, Bromson had a superb day in goal for Manhattanville against the Falcons. In her final collegiate match, the keeper turned aside 11 shots – including several in diving fashion – and kept Messiah from at least four or five more tallies throughout the course of the day.

The keeper could only do so much, however, as the two-time defending national champions showed why they have been the top-ranked team in the country all season long. The Falcons held a 34-0 advantage in total shots and kept the ball in the Valiant defensive third for much of the day, continually pressuring the Manhattanville defense and keeping the back line on their toes all match long.

After Manhattanville repelled Messiah for a few minutes, the Falcons struck first in the seventh minute, when the nation's leading scorer, senior Amanda Naeher, took a long ball from the defensive side of midfield and tucked a shot from 20 yards into the right-side netting for her Division III-leading 31st score of the year.

The Falcons' lead doubled less five minutes later, when senior Joanna Haqq made some nice moves in the left side of the penalty box before crossing the ball to sophomore Corinne Wulf, who found the back of the net for the score. The pressure continued at the 23:42 mark, when Haqq dribbled by a pair of Valiant defenders inside the penalty area and this time kept it herself before slipping the ball past a defenseless Bromson.

At the half, Messiah held a 16-0 edge in total shots, with Bromson making some beautiful diving stops to keep Manhattanville within shouting distance of the top-ranked Falcons.

The Valiant defense held Messiah off the scoreboard for much of the second half, but the Falcons netted their fourth of the game in the 74th minute, when freshman Alicia Frey rang a shot off the left post and into the back of the net.

That was the last ball to get by Bromson, who continued to repel a Messiah offense that came into the game averaging more than five goals per contest. For the senior, the 11 saves were a season-high.