Roanoke, VA – Messiah College scored a goal in each half and held the majority of territory in a 2-1 in over Roanoke on Friday night.
Colby Thomas and
Kirby Robbins each tallied for the Falcons, who finished with a 13-9 edge in shots over the host Maroons. Cole Thornton scored for Roanoke with just 11 seconds to play but, despite losing the shutout, Messiah took a win in their first match of 2016.
The Falcons' first goal came at the end of the 23rd minute, though each team had chances before Thomas put one through. Roanoke's best look came in the 12th minute when Brandon Bauer launched a left-footed strike from 35 yards out in the midfield. The sudden offering forced
Connor Bell to make a leap at the last moment to punch it over the crossbar and keep it 0-0.
Moments later a Messiah cross from the right side went to the middle of box, and
Jacob Bender's header went just wide of the far post.
Less than four minutes after Bender's chance, Messiah got into the net off a corner set. Bender served low into the box from the right side, and the Roanoke defense couldn't clear it away. Possession fell to
Nick West in the box, and his flick to the left side was run through by Thomas for a 1-0 lead.
The goal held up into the second-half, and Messiah doubled their lead in the 56th minute.
Nick West was played over the defense against the run of play, and he found himself racing toward the 18 with a possible one-on-one chance against keeper Nick Tadros. The keeper's slide saved West's low shot, but the ball bounced to
Kirby Robbins in the midfield. Robbins quickly touched and looped a shot from 23 yards out to the right side of the frame and, despite a Roanoke defender's attempt block the shot, it tucked just inside the post for a 2-0 advantage.
Messiah came close to adding another goal in the 68th minute, but Tadros came up with a quick-reflex save on a shot by
Will Cochran from just inside the 18.
Shay Quintin also came close to getting on the board, this time off a set play in the 79th minute, but Tadros' diving save kept the Falcons out.
With just 11 seconds to play the Maroons spoiled the shutout and, despite being too-little-too-late, it was an impressive tally. Fortune Sibanda collected the assist with his long serve from just over the midfield stripe, and Thornton got the goal thanks to a diving header atop the six-yard line.
Nevertheless, Messiah took the victory to move to 1-0 on the season. As mentioned, they took a 13-9 edge in shots, and they also doubled the Maroons' corner kicks, 4-2. Tadros finished with four saves for Roanoke, and Bell grabbed three saves of his own for Messiah.
The Falcons will turn around quickly to play Lynchburg College on Saturday, with game time set for 4:00 p.m. on Roanoke's turf.
