our days after winning their 800th game of all-time, the Elizabethtown College men’s soccer team fell to No. 3 Messiah College 3-0 in the first “Marshmallow Bowl” played at Ira R. Herr field in three years on Saturday, Oct. 12. The game marked the tenth straight win for Messiah against Etown and the last conference meeting between the two teams, as the Blue Jays will move from the Middle Atlantic’s Commonwealth Conference to the Landmark Conference next year, putting a possible end to one of the most heated rivalries in the NCAA.

The bleachers at Ira R. Herr Field were packed with Etown fans in the traditional orange Etown-Messiah T-shirts that, this year, read: “The Final Flight” in recognition of the conference change. It was the first “Marshmallow Bowl” played at Etown in three years. The game usually alternates locations each year, but a late October snowstorm in 2011 forced the game to be played at The Net, an indoor sports facility in Palmyra, Pa. The fans showed up wielding bags of marshmallows, which began raining down in the bleachers and onto the field at the start of the game, and the flurry did not stop until the final whistles were blown.

The Blue Jays were looking to win their first regular season “Marshmallow Bowl” meeting since 2002, but goalkeeper Rodrigo Barrera’s challenge began early, when he saved a shot from Messiah junior midfielder Brian Ramirez in the fifth minute. Then, in the nineteenth minute, he stopped a shot from Falcons leading scorer Joshua Wood. The third shot was the charm for Messiah as junior Jeremy Payne scored in the twenty-first minute ­— his ninth goal of the season. Etown’s best chance to score came in the tenth minute when junior Andrew Sandridge fired a shot from the right side of the eighteen-yard box, but was unable to hit the net.

Falcons leading scorer Joshua Wood tallied a second Messiah goal for his eleventh of the season in the fifty-fourth minute. Messiah’s high-pressure offense paired with the Blue Jays’ inability to create offensive opportunities resulted in Etown spending most of the game in their defensive half. A series of quick passing led to the Falcons’ third and final goal of the afternoon, which came off the foot of first-year Robby Johnson.

In all, the Blue Jays only managed two shots, neither one of them on target, and Rodrigo Barrera faced a total of twenty-seven shots, amassing eleven saves. This brought his season total to forty-four in seven games. The Falcons won twelve corner kicks and only gave up one to the Blue Jays.

The loss against Messiah came only a few days after the Blue Jays won their 800th game of all-time in the program’s 72nd season against conference opponent Alvernia University. Etown is the third team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. The Blue Jays have fielded a team every year since 1938, except for a four-year hiatus during World War II. Etown joins Division I UCLA (921) and Division III Wheaton College (828) in the 800-win club.

The Blue Jays benefitted from two first-half goals scored by juniors Zach Lee and Andrew Sandridge, while only allowing a single Alvernia goal. Neither team mustered a shot on goal in the second half and the Blue Jays celebrated making history.

The game was Barrera’s first game back from a leg injury he suffered in the game against Susquehanna University on Sept. 25. He recorded one save.

The Blue Jays will face Hood College on Saturday, Oct. 19, during the 2013 Homecoming weekend, at Ira R. Herr Field. The Homecoming King and Queen will be announced at halftime of the game. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.