XML Box Score Center Valley, PA -
Andrew Harris broke a 4-4 tie with a goal late in the third quater and
Will Franken and
Ryan Mayer each tallied in the fourth to lead the Falcons to a 7-4 win over DeSales University. Franken, Mayer, and
Tyler Goglio each scored twice for Messiah.
A penalty on the Bulldogs 40 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Falcons a chance to stretch their slim lead. Messiah did just that and converted their only man-up goal of the game on Franken's 29
th of the season to take a two-goal lead.
A couple of long possessions by the Falcons and a pair of saves by
Brooks Arnold kept DeSales off the board for the next eight minutes. Messiah added their final tally of the game at the 5:32 mark off of the stick of
Ryan Mayer.
Nate Nester added his second assist of the quarter and his third of the game. It was Nester's sixth game this year recording multiple assists.
Another save by Arnold and a costly illegal body check penalty on DeSales helped the Falcons keep their three-goal lead and finish off the game. Arnold stopped 10 of the 14 Bulldogs' shots on goal in the match.
The Bulldogs won all but two face-offs in the game, but only managed 22 shots, including just two in the second quarter. Alternatively, Messiah took 38 shots overall, 18 of which were on net.
Chris Ruger caused three of the Bulldogs' 19 turnovers to lead the Falcons. Braden Olsen and
Kyle Margosian led the team with four ground balls each.
Messiah took advantage of DeSales' six turnovers in the first quarter to take a 3-1 lead after the first 15 minutes. Two of those turnovers led directly to the first and third goals, scored by Franken and Goglio, respectively.
The victory moved Messiah to 6-7 on the season, while DeSales dropped to 5-8 overall. The Falcons will next travel to Stevenson University on Wednesday, Apr. 23, for a 6:00 p.m. game.
