Hoboken, NJ - Stevens Tech tallied two goals midway through the first-half and No. 3 Messiah College could not recover in a 2-1 loss for the Falcons on Saturday night. The decision drops Messiah to 1-1 on the season while the Ducks moved to 2-0.

The Ducks went ahead in the 22nd minute by way of an own goal by the Falcons. Raba Nassif served a knuckling cross from the left wing into the Falcons' box, and three Messiah players came together near the six-yard line to clear it away. Sarah Strachan and Sara Yunez avoided a collision but couldn't keep from redirecting the ball backwards, and Yunez couldn't recover before it went over the goal line. The unfortunate moment put Messiah in a hole, but it was the Ducks' second goal that put them on their heels. Gabby Mathelier collected the unassisted tally with a rip from inside the 18 just after she cut around her mark.

The goal was Mathelier's third in two games to start the season.

Despite the hole, Messiah had plenty of time to recover; however, the Stevens' defense proved up to the task as they continued to turn away the Falcons' attack. Messiah finally broke through in the 81st mintue when Sunny Gelnovatch slotted Brooke Firestone behind the defense and into the box for a one-on-one shot against keeper Lindsey Mahnken. That was Firestone's sixth-and-final shot of the night, with four of those offerings going on frame.

Erin Sollenberger and Gelnovatch each had chances to tie the game in the final minutes, with Sollenberger's look the best of the two. Her strike came from just outside the 18-yard line and she had a clear look through the Stevens defense. But her shot was picked up at on the goal line by Mahnken, and minutes later the upset was finished.

The early missteps by the Falcons were even more unfortunate considering they outshot the Ducks 21-13 and also edged them in corners 8-1. The Ducks did miss a few chances to add a third goal in the seocnd-half, but Messiah did well in their attempt to move possession consistently into Stevens territory. That was the case even before they fell behind, and they almost took a lead on more than one occassion in the early minutes. Their first-- and maybe best-- chance to do so came off a corner serve in just the second minute. Weaver's ball sailed to the far side of the box for Gelnovatch, and her shot went just two feet wide of the right post. Three minutes later Firetstone's first shot was grabbed on the goal line by Mahnken.

After going down, and even more so after the intermission, Messiah fought hard to get even. They attempted 12 of their 21 shots in the final 45 minutes and, as mentioned, Firestone brought them within a single goal with just under 10 minutes to play. The tally was her second in two games to start her career.

The two goals given up on the road by Messiah marked the first such instance since 2012 when they fell behind Lebanon Valley 2-0. That deficit was also secured before halftime, but they rallied to win that game 3-2-- something they tried hard to accomplish once again tonight. The road loss was the first since their last loss of any sort, a 1-0 defeat to Ithaca College in the 2013 NCAA Sectional Semifinal.

Messiah will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday, Sept. 7 when they travel to Johns Hopkins University for a 7:00 p.m. match.