Grantham, PA – No. 4 Messiah College scored early and often to cruise to a 6-0 victory over Centenary University Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Colby Thomas, Kirby Robbins, Zeb Cross, Zack Bosshard and Will Cochran all tallied goals for the Falcons on the night.
The win pushed Messiah's record to 18-0-3 on the year. With the loss, Centenary finishes their year at 13-6-1.

The Falcons got off to a quick start, as Thomas scored just five minutes into play. Nick West advanced into the box on the left side and crossed the ball into the middle. Will Cochran was on the receiving end of the cross, but Devon Warne dove to make the save on Cochran's attempt. Fortunately for the Falcons the ball bounced to Thomas on the right side of the box, where he touched once to the middle and ripped a shot that bounced off the inside of the crossbar and into the net.

After several good opportunities, the Falcons notched their second goal of the evening in the 26th minute. West possessed the ball outside the box on the left side and sent a cross to the middle of the box.  Kirby Robbins jumped up among a crowd of people and headed it past Warne for the goal.
Just before halftime, David Alejos had the ball along the right sideline. He sped past his defender toward the end line and delivered a ball into the center of the box to Cross. The forward gathered and chipped a shot over the hands of Warne and under the crossbar to extend the Falcon lead to 3-0 as the teams entered the break.

The second-half was much of the same for the Falcons, as Messiah started the half strong with a goal in the first nine minutes of play. Jacob Bender received the ball at the top of the box, where he ripped a shot on frame. Warne dove to make the save on Bender's attempt, however the ball bounced softly in front of the left side of the net where Cochran was there to send it home to put Messiah ahead 4-0.

Only 50 seconds later, Thomas possessed the ball on the edge of the Falcons' offensive third on the right side. He advanced up the field and played a ball into space for Cochran, who ripped a shot that snuck past Warme for his second-consecutive goal in under a minute.

The Falcons got their final tally of the game in the 64th minute, when Shay Quintin fed the ball to Bosshard on the left side of the box. He touched past his defender to the middle and drilled a shot that was heading for the right post. His shot got deflected by a Cyclone defender and redirected the ball towards the left post where the ball rolled into the net to secure the Falcons' 6-0 victory.

The Falcons controlled possession and field advantage throughout the contest, which led to the lopsided win. Messiah used the domination of possession en route to a 41-2 advantage in shots, including 19 shots on goal.

The Falcons will take on the winner of Montclair State and No. 21 Christopher Newport tomorrow afternoon at Shoemaker Field. Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m.