Senior Alex Brandt scored two second half goals in a span of seven minutes to lead No. 1 Messiah past the Johns Hopkins women's soccer team, 3-0, Sunday night in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
The loss put an end to Hopkins' improbable NCAA tournament run, as Messiah (22-1-1) proved too talented for the young Blue Jay team. Hopkins seniors Meredith Maguire and Taylor Schulte closed a fantastic career, advancing to three Elite Eight's and four Sweet Sixteen's.
The defending NCAA champion Messiah advanced to the Final Four to take on Misericordia, who defeated Brandeis, 2-0, earlier today.
Hopkins (18-5-1) struggled to muster any offensive chances throughout the first half, as it was out-shot by the Falcons, 9-0. Nonetheless, the Blue Jays managed to withstand the barrage of Falcon shots to enter the halftime break all square, 0-0.
Messiah's offense finally broke through in the 59th minute when Nikki Elsaesser made a run on the right flank and found Brandt in the center of the box for the one-time score.
The Falcons nearly doubled their lead less than three minutes later, but a shot by Emily Schneider fired off the crossbar. Maguire then saved the follow-up shot by Brandt.
The two-time All-American Brandt then connected again for Messiah on a long-range effort from 18-yards out. Brandt created space at the top of the box and curled a beautiful shot into the lower right corner around the diving Maguire.
The Blue Jays did not fire a shot until the 72nd minute when an Amanda Yaccarino effort missed wide of the net. They managed three shots in a span of three minutes, but exposed their backline in the process.
The veteran Falcons pounced on the unprotected Hopkins defense in the 83rd minute, as Elsaesser effectively stamped Messiah's ticket to the Final Four with a breakaway goal.
Messiah's defense put on an incredible performance, holding the Hopkins offense scoreless for just the third time this season. The Blue Jays had averaged four goals-per-game through the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament.