GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Dickinson field hockey team began the Jenn Hanks era with a tall task on Thursday night as they made the short trip to take on the eighth-ranked Messiah University Falcons. Unfortunately for the Red and White they felll behind early and were never able to recover as the host left Anderson Field with a 2-0 non-conference win.

The Falcons were out of the gates strong as it took just 59-seconds for Ashlyn Smith to send a shot past Devils netminder Saige Stevens. Four mintes later Stevens recorded her first of seven saves on the night as she shutdown Kelsey Heltzel. Messiah added two more shots in the period, but did not test Stevens.

The home side had the first three shots of the second, before the Red and White notched their first attempt of the night with 23 minutes off the clock as Becca Woods was turned aside by Falcons keeper Catie Brubaker. Mallory Kline and Makayla Malcolm had the last two chances of the half, but both missed the mark.

Dickinson got the opening shot of the second-half with first-year Malena Malka Goldman getting a look at cage to tie the game. However, Brubaker was strong between the pipes to hold the score at 1-0. Messiah recorded the next four chances, forcing Stevens into two more saves before Smith netted her second of the night for the 2-0 lead after three.

For the second straight quarter DC got an early shot as Abby Marthins had her attempt snuffed out by the defense in the second minute. After that the Falcons controled the play as they did not allow another Dickinson shot and made Stevens make three more stops to preserve the 2-0 final scoreline. 

Falcon Leaders
Goals - Smith (2)
Shots -  Smith (7), Malcolm (4)
Saves - Brubaker (2)

Red Devil Leaders
Shots - Goldman, Marthins, and Woods (1)
Saves - Stevens (7)

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Dickinson goes in search of win number one on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when they Juniata College for a non-conference tilt in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Read Full Article