Gettysburg falls to No. 3 Messiah 4-1

GETTYSBURG , Pa. – Lisa Strausbaugh scored the game-winner in the 21^st minute and Aftan Fisher added two goals to lead third-ranked Messiah over 14^th-ranked Gettysburg 4-1 in non-conference field hockey action on Thursday.

The Falcons (14-2) held an 11-7 shot advantage en route to their seventh consecutive victory and seventh straight win over the Bullets. Gettysburg , which finished the regular season with a record of 13-5, has clinched a Centennial Conference (CC) playoff berth and awaits the end of the conference regular season on Saturday to determine their next opponent.

Bridget Seidel ( Mohnton , PA /Governor Mifflin) scored an unassisted goal in the third minute of the game to put the Bullets on the board first. The goal was her seventh of the season.

Messiah answered with three goals in the first half. Fisher scored two goals and each was assisted by Jenna Schwind. Both are among the nation’s leaders in points per game.

Strausbaugh’s goal came off a penalty corner. She fought through a scramble in front of the cage and blasted in her third goal of the season.

The Falcons quickly scored again to open the second half on an unassisted goal by Ashley Lobach in the 38^th minute. The Bullets mustered five shots in the half, but were unable to take advantage of seven penalty corners.

Meg Goddu (Chadds Ford, PA/Unionville), the CC’s leading scorer, took three shots on goal for the Bullets while teammate Maura Downey (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Catholic) finished the game with two.

Bullets goalkeeper Katherine Corkhill ( Paoli , PA /Acad. of Notre Dame) made five saves in the loss.

Gettysburg returns to action on Nov. 5 in the semifinal round of the CC playoffs. Game time, venue, and opponent are to be determined.

Score by Half 1 2 - F

#3 Messiah (14-2) 3 1 - 4

#14 Gettysburg (13-5) 1 0 - 1

Scoring

G – Bridget Seidel, 2:41

M – Aftan Fisher (Jenna Schwind), 8:28

M – Lisa Strausbaugh, 20:01

M – Fisher (Schwind), 24:58

M – Ashley Lobach, 37:38

Shots: M 11, G 7. Penalty Corners: M 7, G 8. Saves: M 4 (Renee Herbster), G 5 (Katherine Corkhill).