Grantham, PA – No. 3 Messiah College scored three second-half goals en route to a 3-0 shutout of Houghton College on Saturday night. The win moved the Falcons to 3-1 on the season and gave them a win for the second-straight night on their home field.
Jacob Bender ended the scoreless affair in the 65th minute with a brilliant strike from off the right corner of the 18. His left-footed shot tucked in the top corner of the far post, a stunning goal that set off a celebration from both the Falcons and the 2,000-plus fans in attendance.
Though both teams were unable to get on the board until Bender's goal—his first of the season—Messiah scored again just minutes later. This time the goal was the product of a Falcon attack against the run of play, as
Will Cochran and Houghton keeper Jacob Dunnett came together just above the center of the 18. The ball ricocheted off Dunnet't's shin and popped up and over to the right side where
Colby Thomas ran on for possession. He touched quickly to elude one defender and then again to get around the retreat of Dunnett before poking a shot over the goal line.
The quick 2-0 lead was even-more welcome at the time considering they had missed on so many chances up until that point. Just 10 ten minutes before Bender's goal the Falcons had one such opportunity when
Nick West beat Dunnett to a loose ball behind the Highlander defense. West took possession 25 yards out as Dunnett slid underneath, and he then approached the left post with two defenders sliding in front. West beat one to the post and then slotted across to
Danny Rowe for the shot, but Dunnett made a miraculous recovery to turn away the short offering.
That missed opportunity seemed monumental at the time, but the goals would soon come for the Falcons.
In total they outshot the Highlanders 16-9, with nine of those shots going on frame. The final goal of the night was scored with five seconds remaining off the foot of Rowe, with both West and
Kirby Robbins collecting an assist on the play.
Jonathan Weaver led the Messiah defense with a career-high seven saves, many of which were made difficult by the soaked grass. The rest of the defensive unit also did a stellar job of keeping most of the Houghton (2-3) shots at a distance.
The win also helped the Falcons close the gap in their all-time record against Houghton; Messiah is now 8-9-1 against the Highlanders in 18 matches and, despite an eight-game losing streak to Messiah, Houghton remains the only current NCAA Division III team with a winning record against Messiah (min. five games).
Messiah is now halfway through a four-game homestand, and they will next play on Wednesday, Sept. 16 when they host Gettysburg at 7:00 p.m.
