Grantham, PA – No. 11 Messiah College was stunned on Saturday night on their home field as Rowan University scored four unanswered goals in a 4-2 win over the Falcons. Travis Ward and Shane Doherty each tallied twice for the Profs, while Nick West scored both of the Falcons' goals.
 
Ward's first goal came in the eighth minute when he found space inside the right corner of the 18 for a shot far post. Jonathan Weaver was blocked on the play long enough to slow his reaction, and his dive just missed keeping the ball was tucking inside the edge of the goal.
 
The tally was certainly stunning at the time, but even more surprising was the storyline of the entire game. Messiah uncharacteristically struggled to put together stretches of possession for almost the entire first-half, and they managed to put the ball into the Profs' box only a handful of times before the intermission.

Rowan (6-1) took their 1-0 lead into the second-half, and they struck again in the 48th minute. Again it was Ward, this time launching a sudden strike from 25 yards out in the midfield that went directly over the head of Weaver. Ward's shot seemed to dive downward as it went under the bar, and Weaver could not react in time even though it appeared he was poised to grab it.
 
Now up 2-0 and with an upset in their sights, Rowan piled on two more tallies before the 65th minute. Shane Doherty scored both of these goals, the first of which came in a 40-yard one-on-one with Weaver. Bryant Myer and Matt Kyne both came forward in a long serve over the midfield, and the ball bounded over everyone at the midline. Doherty raced on and took possession, leaving the Messiah defense on his back. He touched all the way to the 18 before pushing his shot past Weaver.
 
Less than eight minutes later Doherty was at it again, this time cleaning up a blocked shot by Vinny Ignatowicz.
 
The 4-0 deficit was certainly unexpected for the Falcons, and surely stunning for the 4,000 fans in attendance.
 
Nevertheless, the Falcons continued to battle for quality, and Nick West capitalized on a great serve by Nathan Eagan in the 70th minute. Eagan's cross from the right side went to the middle of the six, and West headed it down and through the middle of the net to end Rowan's bid at a shutout.
 
In the 77th minute West tallied again, this time by firing through a Zack Bosshard shot off the crossbar.
 
Though there was still more than 10 minutes to play, Messiah's bid for a comeback fell short, and the upset was complete.
 
Messiah finished with a 14-13 edge in shots, and keeper Kyle Dennis made six saves for the visitor. Messiah collected just two corners, a low number that reflected their inconsistent play and uncharacteristic struggles to form an attack throughout the game.
 
The four goals allowed by Messiah are the most on Shoemaker Field since a 4-0 loss to Wheaton College in 1996. The Falcons have now allowed eight goals this season, with all of them coming in two of their six games. This marks the first time Messiah has allowed four goals in two different games in a single season since 1992.
 
The Falcons (3-2-1) will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday when they travel to York College for a 4:00 p.m. game.