Grantham, PA – No. 1 Messiah exploded for five second-half goals in front of their Homecoming Day crowd on Saturday to defeat Albright College 7-0. The win pushed the Falcons to 14-0-1 on the season and 4-0-1 in the Commonwealth.
 
Messiah's offensive output was especially welcome after they played 110 scoreless minutes earlier in the week in a draw with Stevenson. On Saturday, it took all of 4:04 for them to get on the board.
 
Mike Kovach did the honors to put Messiah in front, sending home a header off a cross from Brian Ramirez. Less than four minutes later, Ramirez stole possession from the Albright defense inside the box for a quick push to the left post and cross to Jeremy Payne for a 2-0 lead.
 
The Falcons outshot the Lions 15-1 in the first-half, and they collected 10 corners to Albright's zero. But Messiah carried just the 2-0 lead into the intermission.
 
After the break Messiah took 10 more shots, with five going for goals.
 
In the 51st minute Jack Thompson deftly cut through four defenders on the left edge of the box to set up the third tally. After getting to the end line he crossed to the middle where Payne put a quick strike on the open net.
 
Payne's second goal opened the floodgates, as Thompson took a turn scoring just 90 seconds later, sending home a feed from Mike Kovach on a feed from the right end line. The two quick goals doubled the Falcons' lead to 4-0, and they added two more scores in the next 14 minutes.
 
Danny Brandt's goal in the 54th minute came off Kovach's second consecutive assist; the Falcons' winger found Brandt open atop the box for a quick square to the goal and shot inside the right post. In the 65th minute Colby Thomas collected his third goal of the year off a free kick feed from Zack Bosshard.
 
Bosshard then completed the scoring in the 72nd minute on a penalty kick.
 
Messiah finished with a 25-7 edge in shots and 13-0 advantage in corners. Three different keepers—Brandon West, Aaron Hennigan, and Jonathan Weaver—played for Messiah with West (two) and Hennigan combining for three saves.
 
The Falcons will next play on Wednesday, Oct. 22 when they host Hood College at 7:00 p.m. The game will the Falcons' last regular-season home game.