Nov. 18, 2006

Box Score

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Andre Burckhart scored in the 83rd minute to propel Messiah (19-1-2) to a 2-1 win over Johns Hopkins (19-2-2) in the NCAA Sectional Finals Saturday at Williams College. The Blue Jays conclude their season with a school record 19 wins.

The Blue Jays were knocking on the door early. Junior Mo Hamzeh (Clarksville, MD/River Hill) nearly connected on point blank header in the 17th minute. Again in the 25th minute, sophomore Akash Naik (Simpsonville, SC/Hillcrest) headed the ball just wide right. With time winding down in the first half, sophomore Ethan Mulligan (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) ripped a hard shot from about 30 yards out after a Hopkins corner kick. The ball ricocheted off the crossbar and out of play.

Messiah struck first, breaking the scoreless draw in the 55th minute. JD Binger played a long ball over the top to Kai Kasiguran. He then beat his defender and fired a shot past Hopkins goalie Danny Coble (Fremont, CA/Bellarmine College Prep). The Blue Jays answered right back, knotting the game at 1-1 in the 57th minute. Freshman Max Venker (Oldsmar, FL/Palm Harbor University High) drew a foul just outside the Falcons' penalty box. Sophomore Nicholas Gauna (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) took the free kick, sending the ball just in front of the Messiah goal. Sophomore Matty Carlson (Bristol, CT/Loomis Chaffee) flicked the ball off his head to the right. Naik then headed the ball perfectly into the top left corner for his second of the weekend.

Twenty five minute later, Messiah found the back of the net with Burckhart's game-winner. Ben Jordan passed the ball forward to Burckhart on the right side of the offensive box. Burckhart, one-on-one with his defender, made a quick move to get some separation and then fired a blistering shot past Coble and into the net.

The shots were dead even at 16 apiece. Coble finished with three saves while Dustin Shambach made four saves for the Falcons. The Blue Jays lose just two seniors - Coble and Trip Neil (Dallas, TX/St. Mark's School of Texas). The pair graduate with a 68-8-10 (.848) record, the second most wins in Hopkins history after the class of 2005 (69).