XML Box Score Grantham, PA – Seven different players collected either a goal or an assist to help No. 2 Messiah College to an 8-0 win over Eastern University.
Nikki Elsaesser scored three times for the Falcons and finished with seven points on the night.
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The win moved Messiah to 6-0; Eastern fell to 2-5.
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The Falcons patiently settled into their attack early in the game and managed to get into the box for a few shots that went off or over the crossbar. Elsaesser broke through for the game's first goal in the 19th minute after getting a pass from
Marisa DeMonte above the 18 and spinning quickly for a sharp strike to the left side of the goal.
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Just over three minutes later Elsaesser scored again, this time taking a feed from
Marisa Weaver on a run into the attacking third. She carried all the way into the box and went one-on-one with keeper Jules Leco for the score.
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Leading 2-0, the Falcons continued to slice through the Eagles' defense. In the 25th minute
Marisa Weaver took a pass on her run to the top of the 18 and fired with her left foot for the goal, and five minutes after that
Regina Stump scored on a similar play. Stump's goal, the first of her career, came from a sharper angle and she needed to elude Leco's approach.
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The four first-half goals came on just 12 shots. In the second-half they would launch another 22 shots, and add another four tallies.
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Clapper made it 5-0 in the 50th minute with a header from eight yards out, a perfect shot off a serve from Weaver outside the corner of the 18. Five minutes later, the Falcons scored once more, and again it was Elsaesser putting it through as she found a one-on-one opportunity against the run of play; Elsaesser's first touch was almost enough for Leco to grab, but Nikki beat the keeper to ball, touched right, and slide into a shot that barely pushed the ball over the goal line.
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With the Falcons dominating, two more goals would come. Weaver added her second of the game in the 64th minute off a double-assist from
Kyele Bridel and
Erin Sollenberger, and Stump also scored once more off a cross from
Olivia Snare.
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When the final horn sounded Messiah held a 34-0 edge in shots and 10-1 edge in corners.
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The Falcons will next play on Saturday, Sept. 20 when they play host to No. 10 Misericordia on Shoemaker Field. The game will be a rematch of both last year's double-overtime draw and Messiah's 3-0 win in the 2012 NCAA Final Four. Â