Grantham, PA - A match-up of two defensive juggernauts in the MAC Commonwealth lived up to the billing as Messiah College edged Widener University 5-4 in a thrilling win on Messiah's home turf. Blake Knobloch and Justin Bradley each tallied in a 61-second span late in the fourth quarter to help Messiah get in front, and the defense shut down the Pride in the visitor's last-second attempts to get even.

The win pushed Messiah into the MAC Commonwealth Championship on Saturday at Stevenson University.

Blake Knobloch began the scoring by ripping a perfectly placed bounce shot past Matt Horton on an extra man opportunity. With time about to expire in the first quarter, Chris Bry notched a goal with a slick shot for the 2-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Widener controlled the second quarter of play and outscored Messiah 3-1. Tyler Schulte struck first for the Pride when he found the back of the net off an assist from Tim Taylor. The Falcons responded two and half minutes later when Luke Hall found Tyler Goglio who notched the goal with a left handed shot.
 
Widener controlled the remainder of the second quarter with long offensive possessions and added the final two goals of the quarter from Tim Taylor and Tyler Schulte.
 
In the third quarter it looked like both teams would be held scoreless when Widener's Tim Taylor quickly turned towards the cage and found the top right corner to take Widener's first lead of the game.
 
Trailing 4-3, Messiah was desperately seeking a score to tie the game at four a piece. The Falcons received the game tying score when Blake Knobloch blew a shot past Matt Horton for his second goal on an extra man opportunity.
 
Messiah kept their momentum rolling after tying the game at four and regained the lead just a minute later with a goal from Justin Bradley. The Falcon midfielder dodged down the right wing and snuck a shot right under the crossbar for the Falcon lead.
 
Down by one goal, Widener picked up their intensity and they had possession in their offensive end with 34 second remaining. The Pride had an open look with time expiring when Tim Taylor received a feed by the crease, but the Falcon defense quickly collapsed on the Widener attack man for the victory.
 
Statistically, both squads were evenly matched edging one another in different statistical categories. Messiah edged Widener in saves (10-7), ground balls (25-23), and committed fewer turnovers (19-20).
 
As mentioned, the victory advances Messiah to the MAC Commonwealth Championship game against Stevenson University. The Falcons will travel to No. 1 seeded Stevenson to take on the Mustangs at a still to be determined time. Messiah traveled to Stevenson back on Apr. 20 and fell to the Mustangs by an 11-6 score.