Grantham, PA - After a scoreless opening period, No. 1 Messiah field hockey scored four times in the second-half to defeat Catholic University of America by a final score of 4-0. Moriah Pfautz scored two goals, including the tiebreaker seven minutes in to the second-half and the nightcap with less than four minutes to play. Nicole Wilkerson also had an incredible night, scoring the third goal and assisting on all three others for a five-point effort.
 
The win gives Messiah its 13th-straight victory, having not lost since the first game of the season when they fell to Division II No. 1 Shippensburg 1-0 in OT. It was the first time in program history that Messiah defeated Catholic, having fallen in the three previous matchups. The Falcons improved to 13-1 on the year, while the Cardinals fell to 8-5.
 
Messiah outshot Catholic 21-4 (13-3 on goal), and registered nine penalty corners to the Cardinals' three. The saves margin was the same, with Catholic's Analisa Scott recording nine and Shelby Landes turning away three.
 
The Cardinal defense held strong throughout the first-half, not letting the ball into the cage despite 11 shots (4-2 on goal) by Messiah. The closest the Falcons came to scoring in the period was in the 29th minute, when they were awarded a penalty stroke that was taken by Carissa Gehman. Gehman attempted to go top shelf over the goalie's right shoulder, but her attempt went just inches wide of the cage.
 
The halftime pep talk must have been inspiring, because the Falcons came out firing on all cylinders in the second period.
 
Messiah got the scoring started in the 42nd minute, when Taylor Holt sent a penalty corner in to Wilkerson at the top of the circle, who fed Pfautz on the left side for a hard, sweeping shot that snuck past the goalie.
 
Off a steal six minutes later, Wilkerson brought the ball up the middle and sent a pass to a wide-open Kristin Donohue on the right side, who took a couple steps and fired a shot right through the goalie's legs to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. It was Donohue's fifth goal of the season.
 
The floodgates were now open, as at the 54:57 mark it was Wilkerson's turn to get in the scoring column.  Kezia Loht brought the ball into the circle from the right side and put in a centering pass that was deflected back to Wilkerson by Holt. Wilkerson collected, spun, and sent a shot off a defender that went in just past the left post.
 
For the final goal, Emily Rubright sent a penalty corner in to Wilkerson at the top left side of the circle. She passed it to Kaylor Rosenberry on the top right, who dished it right back to Wilkerson, who sent the ball on goal. Pfautz put her stick at an angle on the ground in front of the ball, chipping it over the Cardinal goalkeeper and into the top of the cage.
 
Four of Messiah's ten second-half shots resulted in goals, while the Falcon defense held Catholic to a single shot in the period to take the 4-0 victory.
 
Pfautz and Wilkerson were the stars of the match for Messiah, as Pfautz recorded five shots (three on goal) and two tallies while Wilkerson had a hand in all four goals, scoring one and assisting three. Goals eluded top-scorer Gehman, as she registered eight shots (six on goal) but was unable to find the back of the cage.
 
The Falcons travel to Alvernia for a huge matchup on Saturday, as the Crusaders are 16-0 and 5-0 in the MAC Commonwealth, tied at the top of the conference with the Falcons. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.