ANNVILLE, Pa. - #15 Lebanon Valley took sole possession of first place in the Commonwealth Conference, knocking off rival #14 Messiah 1-0 in a Homecoming clash at Arnold Field.
The Dutchmen (11-1, 3-0 CC) beat the Falcons (8-5, 2-1 CC) for the first time since the 2007 regular season thanks to
Lyndee Sheaffer's 29th minute deflection of
Lauren Brumbach's corner blast. The win makes LVC 3-0 this season against teams in the NFHCA Top 20.
A game shaped largely by the midfield possession battle, Lebanon Valley overcame a slow start offensively to lead 7-5 on shots (5-3 in the first half) while
Kendra Moll worked a four-save shutout with several key stops. The Dutchmen had to kill three cards, including a period in early in the first half with both Sheaffer and Brumbach sitting, and a second-half Brumbach yellow.
After going without a chance for the opening 23 minutes, LVC began to open up offensively as
Maddie Fox peppered Carly Day with a pair of shots and
Rachel Youngs fired just right. A penalty corner in the 28th minute was turned aside by Day, but the next time was the charm as Fox injected to Brumbach, who drilled a shot that was deflected by Sheaffer into the cage.
Messiah had the better chances in the second half, but Moll denied opportunities by CC leading scorer Carissa Gehman and Kristin Donohue before
Caity Stevens had a poke stopped at the other end. LVC held Messiah without a shot for the final 30:24 of the game.
The Dutchmen led 7-5 on shots but Messiah held a 6-5 edge on corners. Moll improved to 11-1 with her four-save game; Day had three stops in the loss.
LVC stays at home Tuesday night to host McDaniel at 5 p.m.
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