GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 2 Messiah women's soccer team scored three times in the first 10 minutes of Tuesday night's match on Shoemaker Field to lead the Falcons to a 7-0 victory over the Lycoming Warriors.
 
Jessie Fisher got Messiah on the board in the seventh minute off assists from Maddie Kohl and Brooke Firestone. Two minutes later, Kohl was dishing out her second assist of the opening minutes with a through ball that found Julia Kyne for the 2-0 lead in the ninth minute. Messiah completed their hot start with a deep rip from Sunny Gelnovatch in the 10th minute.
 
Messiah would add a fourth goal in the first-half thanks to an own goal off a corner kick from Lily Shover in the 40th minute. Messiah would add three goals after the break to earn the seven-goal victory and improve to 13-1-0 on the season, 6-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
Explosive Start
In the seventh minute of the match, Messiah connected two quick passes before a touch around the goalie for their first goal of the evening. Maddie Kohl found Brooke Firestone at the top of the box and the junior forward one-touched a pass forward to Jessie Fisher. With the goalie coming off her line to try and intercept the pass, Fisher took one touch around the keeper to the right and put her shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
 
Just over a minute later, the Falcons struck again with an assist to Kohl. From the middle of the field, Kohl sent a through ball to Julia Kyne on the left-side and she touched home the 2-0 Messiah lead. From well outside the box Sunny Gelnovatch finished just a minute later with a curing shot toward back, left post to push the Falcons' lead to 3-0.
 
An own goal late in the half off a corner kick gave Messiah a 4-0 lead heading into the break.
 
Firestone Adds Insurance
Messiah connected in the 60th minute off the foot of Brooke Firestone. Following a blocked shot from Kayla Herr on the left-side of the box, the ball pinballed around before landing at Firestone's right foot for the strike into the right-side netting. Firestone's 13th score of the year gave Messiah a 5-0 advantage, 15 minutes into the second-half.
 
Less than five minutes after tallying, Firestone was at it again. This time she took the ball from the Warriors' defense and carried forward before ripping a shot from inside the box for the 6-0 lead.
 
Finishing the Match
Megan Mansfield used some nifty footwork in the 71st minute to elude the Lycoming keeper on the right-side of the box before stepping on the ball just before it crossed the end line. Mansfield sent a centering pass to Ashley Sauder, who was waiting on the near post for the tap in and the 7-0 lead.
 
Sauder's goal would cap off the 7-0 Messiah victory. In the match, the Falcons outshot the Warriors 34-2, but Lycoming did register the first two shots on goal against the Falcons in conference play this season.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, the Falcons remain perfect in the MAC Commonwealth with a record of 6-0-0 and improve to 13-1-0 overall this season. Messiah will now turn their attention to Saturday's homecoming match against the Widener Pride. Messiah will host the Pride on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on Shoemaker Field. Widener enters the match 6-5-2 on the season and 4-1-0 in the conference.