Box Score
Frederick, MD – Facing off against the Hood College Blazers for the first time in Commonwealth Conference play, Messiah College scored a season-high nine goals in a convincing 10-0 win for their 11th on the season.
For Messiah, it is the first time they have scored ten times in a single game since defeating Albright 10-0 in 2010.
The Falcons and senior
Emily Bower didn't wait long before finding the back of the Blazers' net. Bower scored back-to-back goals in a 29 second span to put the Falcons up 2-0 just four minutes after the opening whistle. Teammate
Heather Quirk came into the game in relief of Bower, adding two goals of her own at the 9:51 and 13:43 marks, respectively.
Bower and Quirk ended the game with three goals each. Bower now has five on the season and Quirk has a team-leading eight tallies. The hat-trick was the Falcons' first by any player this season and the first since current senior
Emily Hursh scored three against Alvernia University on Nov. 5, 2011.
Tuesday's game also marks the first time that two teammates have scored three goals each in a single game since the 2006 season, a 7-3 win over Ursinus College.
The Falcons scored first for the tenth time this season, all of which have been wins.
With the Falcons' fast start, the Blazers' defense found itself back on its heels. The Falcons failed to yield even a shot on goal to the Blazers in the first half of play.
Leading comfortably late in the half, Bower entered back into the game for the Falcons and proved to be a lot to handle yet again for the Blazers. The senior found the net for the third time on a great individual effort in the 23rd minute.
The Falcons would take a 5-0 lead into the break before duplicating their first half performance with five more in the second.
Celina Nissley netted her fourth goal of the season on a rebound off the post by
Kelly Martin just two minutes into the second half, starting the scoring in the second.
Brooke Sands,
Juliana Hershey and
Jenna Bretz added three more goals in a span of nine minutes midway through the period to push the lead to nine goals before Quirk tallied her third of three on the evening with ten minutes to play.
The Falcons took an astounding 48 shots on goal and were rewarded a season-high 20 corners—which forced Hood goalkeeper Liz Decembrino to make 21 saves in the contest.
With the loss, the Blazers fall to 2-11 overall and 0-6 in Commonwealth Conference play. The Falcons improve to 11-3 and a perfect 6-0 in conference play.
The Falcons, ranked 10th in the most recent NFHCA polls, will have just one day to prepare for out-of-conference foe and reigning national champion The College of New Jersey. The Falcons host the No. 9 Lions on Thursday October 18 at 4 p.m. on Anderson Field.
