READING, Pa. – No. 5 Messiah men's soccer collected five goals, including a pair from Christian Valen, en route to a 5-0 road win over Albright on Tuesday night. Colby Thomas and Nick West added first half scores before Valen tacked on two more tallies, the first of his career, in the second half.  
 
Jonathan Groothoff also scored for the Falcons, who jumped to 10-1 and 2-0 in the MAC Commonwealth with the victory. Albright sits at 2-9-1 after the loss.
 
Five for (Number) Five
Messiah, which jumped two spots to No. 5 this morning, christened its new ranking with an appropriate five-goal outing against Albright. It did not take the Falcons long to adjust to Albright's turf-covered confines, with Thomas sending home a slotted ball from Kirby Robbins in the fifth minute. Thomas' tally was one of four Falcon shots in the game's first nine minutes, with Josh Bender getting a pair of decent looks as well.
 
The Falcons stayed silent until the 30', when Robbins set up the visitors' second goal with a shot at Albright goalkeeper Billy Mullen (10 saves). Mullen made a brilliant save on Robbins' rip, but West pounded the rebound past the keeper to give Messiah a 2-0 edge.
 
The early goals were the sixth of the year for both West and Thomas.
 
Welcome to the Club  
The Falcons totaled 11 shots in the second half, with three finding the back of the net. Groothoff sparked the second-half scoring, tucking home his first goal of the season off a headed pass from West in the 64'.
 
From there, Valen stole the show, banking two goals on the first two shots of his Messiah career. The freshman winger took advantage of a whiffed Albright pass in the box in the '81, beating Mullen near post for the finish. Three minutes later, Valen laced a more difficult look past a defender and into the far side netting.
 
Top Ten Tilt Awaits
The win over Albright set a solid tone for the Falcons next match, a Thursday night home clash opposite No. 9 Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays come in sporting an unblemished 11-0 record, one that includes wins over common opponents Haverford and York.  
 
Johns Hopkins stands as the final non-conference test for Messiah, which currently shares the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth with No. 16 Lycoming.