GRANTHAM, Pa. – No. 10 Messiah women's soccer scored three first-half goals and held Westfield State to just a single shot on goal in a 4-0 win in the NCAA First Round on Saturday afternoon.
Brooke Firestone scored the game's first goal and she added a pair of assists in the victory.
The win pushed Messiah (15-2-3) into the Second Round tomorrow where they'll face the winner of No. 25 Rowan and Scranton. Westfield State ends their season with a11-6-3 record.
Early Spark
Temperatures were in the 30's to start the game, but a lack of wind allowed the game to settle quickly in favor of the possession-oriented Falcons. Messiah collected five shots in the first seven minutes, and their early attack created the game's first in just 10' into play. A pass from the midfield was gathered and held
Brooke Firestone about 30 yards out, and a give-and-go combo with
Julia Kyne led Firestone into the box on the right side for a 1v1 with keeper Leah Ciampa. A hard shot across the frame tucked inside the far post for her ninth goal of the season.
Strong Service
Messiah's midfield kept the Owls on the defensive, with messiah collecting 19 shots and five corners in the first period alone. On their third corner, served in the 24', they found their second goal off the head of
Sunny Gelnovatch. The left corner in-swinger was sent by
Skylar Ulry to the six, and Gelnovatch jumped for a header to the far post. A Westfield defender tried to flick it away, but the ball carried over the goal line for a 2-0 lead.
In the 37' Messiah went up 3-0, and again a long serve from the left corner set it up. This time is was Firestone who was played down the left flank, and she carried to the end line before sending an arching cross over the box. Ciampa jumped off her line but it went over her head, and
Emily D'Amico was on the far side to bang it through.
The goal from D'Amico was her fifth, and her first since Oct. 18.
To the Finish
Messiah was in control to the final horn, and they finished with a 31-2 edge in shorts and 9-1 advantage in corners. The Falcons' fourth-and-final goal came early in the second-half and, once again, it was Kyne and Firestone combining for the tally. Ulry started the again with a long pass over the midfield to Kyne, and she dropped a pass to Firestone 40 yards out in the midfield. Firestone then slotted Kyne toward the box, and she carried across the 18 for the goal.
The goal was number five on the season for Kyne, and her first since Oct. 14. Firestone's two assists increased her team-leading total to 12.
Lydia Ewing needed to make just a single save in frame, with Ulry,
DJ Cole,
Lydia Eichorn, the rest of the Falcons' midfield and back row keeping the Owls grounded.
Up Next
Messiah will take on Scranton tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in the NCAA Second Round. The Royals scored twice early—against a No. 25-ranked Rowan squad that allowed just five goals all season—to win 2-0 in the First Round on Saturday.
