Grantham, PA – Kyele Bridel, Marisa Weaver, and Holly Burgard all scored second-half goals to lead No. 3 Messiah College to a 3-0 win over Stevens Tech on Saturday night. The Falcons outshot the Ducks 31-5 thanks to a full 90 minutes of pressure and strong play from back to front.
 
The Falcons' three goals came in a span of 12 minutes partway into the second frame. Bridel's goal came off a cross from the right side by Macaulay Soto. The Falcons' midfielder leaped from just inside the six yard line and, though coming together with both a defender and keeper Lindsay Mahnken, got her head to the ball first to redirect it under the crossbar. The tally was Bridel's second in as many games.
 
Less than 10 minutes later Marisa Weaver doubled the Falcons' lead with an impressive left-footed strike from the right corner of the 18. She was led down the right sideline and took her defender toward the box before cutting back to the middle. After creating a bit of space she drilled a shot inside the far post.
 
Holly Burgard capped the scoring moments later off a short feed from Nikki Elsaesser. After a tackle 40 yards out brought the ball to the Falcons, Elsaesser cut into the box on the right side and slotted across to the six where Burgard punched it through. It was her third goal in the Falcons' first two games.
 
The three goals were certainly too much for Stevens to overcome, though they had their own chances in the first-half. They forced Messiah's Audra Larson to make two saves, one on a header in the 22nd minute and another on a deep shot from Carly Bean in the 43rd minute. Bean's attempt was noteworthy considering it was an attempt from 25 yards out and Larson needed to retreat a few steps to grab it at the cross bar.
 
In addition to outshooting the Ducks by a large margin, Messiah attempted 13 corners to the Ducks' zero.
 
The Falcons will next play when they finish their season opening three game home stand on Wednesday, Sept. 9 when they host No. 5 Johns Hopkins.