Box Score
Grantham, PA – Hosting Hood College for the first time as a Commonwealth opponent, Messiah College scored a season-high nine goals en route to their ninth straight shutout.
The Falcons didn't wait too long before lighting up the scoreboard, as senior
Elizabeth Phillips scored her season's first goal in the 8th minute of the game. Her score came on a header near the left post after classmate
Rachel Scheibeler chipped the ball from the right end line over the goal box.
Just over four minutes later, senior
Alex Brandt put Messiah up 2-0 with a shot off her right-side attack in the penalty box. Brandt's goal, her ninth of the season, was the result of a well-played through ball on the right side by sophomore
Lauren Federline.
The Falcons' fast start coincided with a slow beginning for Hood, as Messiah did not lose possession in their attacking half for the greater part of the first 11 minutes of play.
In the 19th minute, Messiah went up 3-0 on a goal by Scheibeler, as junior
Alicia Frey fed her teammate a ball through the Blazers' back row and into the box. The play started on a corner kick for Messiah—one of 13 on the night—with Frey bringing the possession back out towards the midfield before sharply turning to the right side and finding Scheibeler.
Messiah would take the 3-0 lead into the half before erupting for six more goals against the Blazers.
The second half goals were started by freshman
Carly Schaefer, as the first goal of her career came off a left-footed strike in the middle of the penalty box. Freshman
Nikki Elsaesser collected her season's fourth assist on the play after attacking inside the right end line before finding Schaefer.
Scheibeler followed six minutes later with her second goal of the game, with the assist coming from the midfield and off the foot of Brandt. For Brandt, it was her team-leading sixth assist of the season to go along with her team-high ninth goal from earlier in the game.
Leading 5-0 with still 30 minutes left to play, Frey scored twice in a three-minute span to bring both the score and her season total to seven goals.
Elizabeth Phillips and junior
Emily Schneider completed the scoring with goals in the 65th and 79th minute, respectively.
For Messiah, the nine goals scored were their most since collecting a 10-0 win over Elms College in the First Round of the 2011 NCAA Championships.
On Wednesday, the Falcons scored their nine goals on 44 total shots—with an even 22 launched in each half. Hood keeper Leah Norris collected nine saves, while Messiah keeper
Audra Larson was untested in the Falcons' goal.
With the loss, Hood falls to 2-10 overall and 0-4 in the Commonwealth. Messiah, ranked No. 2 in the most recent NSCAA Top 25 Poll, moves to 11-1-1 overall, including 4-0 in the Commonwealth. Messiah's win on Wednesday was their 80th consecutive regular-season win in the conference.
The Falcons will look to keep their nine-game winning streak going when they next play on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Lebanon Valley College. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.
