GRANTHAM, Pa. – No. 1 Messiah scored twice early, once late, and used a dominating defensive performance to defeat No. 11 Franklin & Marshall by a 3-1 score on Wednesday night. Carissa Gehman notched two goals for the Falcons, including a game-sealing tally off a corner in the final minute.
 
The win moved Messiah to 8-0, and it also pushed the Falcons' win streak to 30 games dating back to last season. The Diplomats fell to 6-2 overall.
 
Quick Flight
The game wasn't 10 minutes old on Wednesday before the Falcons were up 2-0 on the visitors. Nicole Wilkerson put Messiah up 1-0 in the fifth minute when she collected a deflected pass and turned on a shot from the top of the circle. The goal was the first of her season.
 
Just over four minutes later Carissa Gehman doubled the Falcons' lead off a threaded pass from Kristin Donohue. Gehman ran onto the feed and hit a rocket from the right side that went past Ilianna Santangelo.
 
Cut in Half
Messiah held that 2-0 lead into the 22' when Lily Mynott put one through to bring F&M to within 2-1. Erin Coverdale collected the assist with a strong centering pass, and Mynott was able to beat Shelby Landes for the goal.
 
The goal gave the Diplomats some momentum, and they almost evened the score a minute later when Myott carried possession across the circle and found herself wide open for a look on Landes. Her shot went toward the left post and Landes collected a huge save to keep the Falcons in front.
 
Second-Half Shutdown
The Diplomats collected just two shots in the first period, but they managed to play end-to-end with the Falcons for stretches of time. However, in the second-half it was all Messiah as they suffocated the Diplomats in the midfield and on the attack. F&M collected just a single shot and a single corner in the final period, while Messiah earned 10 shots and eight corners over the same time.
 
Nevertheless, the Falcons did not create some breathing room until the final minute when Gehman drilled a shot from the top of the circle off a corner set.
 
The goals for Gehman were her ninth and 10th of the season, respectively.
 
Up Next
Messiah next plays on Saturday when they host MAC Commonwealth rival Lebanon Valley at 1:00 p.m. The Dutchmen are 3-6 overall and lost at Widener in their last game, a 1-0 defeat on Saturday, Sept. 23.