Elizabethtown College’s annual Marshmallow Game ended in a 3-0 win for the Messiah College Falcons on Wednesday, Sept. 22 on Herr Field at Etown. After a long night of both teams being pelted with marshmallows, Messiah took home the win. This win for Messiah moves them to 6-0-1 on the season. For the Blue Jays, they suffered their fourth loss of the season, and they now sit at a record of 2-4-1. Messiah got out to a fast start early on and they never looked back.
Messiah struck early in the first half after their senior forward Ben Lefever from Lancaster, Pa. sent home a strike past Etown’s goalkeeper, senior Kelvin Del Cid, in the 13th minute. Messiah’s first-year midfielder, Davis Pagett from State College, Pa., kept the ball rolling later after his screamer found the back of the net at the 32-minute mark of the first half. This put the Blue Jays at a 2-0 deficit.
For Etown, they struggled to get anything going in the first half with only one shot on Messiah’s goal by senior forward Ryan Helper from Mountville, Pa. Outside of that, the Blue Jays struggled to maintain possession and were unable to find any more chances during the first half.
`
As the second half got underway, it looked like Messiah would continue to dominate the time of possession. The Falcons continued to put pressure on Etown’s defense. It was in the 53rd minute when they broke through once more and the opposing side tacked on another goal, this time on an own goal. This was the final goal of the night, putting Messiah up 3-0.
Etown did put some pressure on Messiah later in the second half. Sophomore forward from Waynesboro, Pa. Hayden Oldham and junior midfielder from Downingtown, Pa. Gavin Domsohn found some open space and unleashed a couple of shots, but both went over the net. The Blue Jays continued to put forth a ton of effort and apply pressure for the rest of the game, but Messiah kept them at bay.
“It was an unfortunate outcome, but I thought the atmosphere overall was just a really fun and good time,” one anonymous student said regarding the Marshmallow Game. “I had a lot of fun and I think it’s worth going to during your college time here.”
The team had a two-game road trip scheduled last week. They will look to bounce back in their game from Susquehanna University on Saturday, Sept. 24. That game was played on the road in Selinsgrove, Pa. They also took on Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Then, they will come back home for a matchup against Juniata College on Saturday, Oct. 1.
