Westminster, MD – After 103 scoreless minutes of play, Sunny Gelnovatch broke the tie and gave Messiah a 1-0 victory over McDaniel College Saturday afternoon. Despite a major discrepancy in shots and possession throughout the contest, the Falcons could not secure the victory until the second-overtime period.

Messiah had several opportunities early in the first-half to take the lead, but could not convert. In the 25th minute, Erin Sollenberger was able to race past her defender on the right shot, but her shot was saved by Sarah McDonald. That was one of a few early grabs for McDonald, who would finish with 10 saves in the game.

Only three minutes later, Messiah's leading goal-scorer Marisa Weaver had a great chance from the left side of the box. She ripped a shot that got past McDonald's reach, but unfortunately bounced off the post to keep the game scoreless.

Right before the end of the first-half, the Falcons had another opportunity on a corner kick by Lilly Shover. Her serve was sent into the box, where defender Summerly Merson was able to launch a shot on frame, but again McDonald was able to make the stop to keep the game scoreless at halftime.

The second-half started with a flurry of shots by the Falcons within the first 10 minutes, but Messiah still could not take the lead. Sollenberger and Weaver each had a shot saved by McDonald and Weaver pushed a shot wide in that stretch.

The game then began to become a battle of the midfield, as only one shot was launched by either team in the remaining 30 minutes of regulation. The only attempt came when Megan Mansfield's strike sailed wide in the 76th minute.

As the teams headed to overtime, the Green Terror began with their best chances of the day. McDaniel launched three shots within a minute, but the Falcons' defense was able to hold steady.

The Falcons then responded with a run of their own, but still could not find the game-winner. Kate Shults had two shots saved in the final 1:15 of the first-overtime, and Mansfield had an attempt that was saved with only seven seconds remaining. The last of Shults' attempts was a terrific strike, and McDonald made an oustanding play to punch it over the crossbar.

The second-overtime period did not last long, as the Falcons finally scored the golden-goal to secure the victory. Skylar Ulry's cross from along the right end line rolled into a crowd of people in the middle of the box, where it deflected up and off the cross-bar. Gelnovatch was waiting to chip the ball over a diving McDonald and into the net for the win.

The Falcons earned a commanding 17-5 advantage in shots, including 11 shots on goal. Sara Yunez made two saves on the day and earned her sixth shutout of the season to help make Gelnovatch's heroics possible.

The thrilling victory marked the seventh-consecutive victory for the Falcons, and pushed their record to 9-2 on the season. The loss was the first for the Green Terror this season, as they fell to 10-1.

The Falcons return to action Wednesday night when they face Lycoming College in a conference matchup on Shoemaker Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.