GRANTHAM, Pa. – Nick West continued his goal scoring ways with a tally in the first 10 minutes of the match and one in the final 10 minutes of the match to lead No. 1 Messiah men's soccer to a 2-0 victory over the No. 14 Lycoming Warriors on Wednesday night. West scored his 22nd goal of the season in the ninth minute by squeezing a shot past the keeper toward the near post.
 
The Falcons held that 1-0 lead for 75 minutes before West struck again. This time the senior ripped a right-footed strike from outside the box and curled his shot inside the right-post for the 2-0 Messiah lead in the 84th minute.
 
Despite the scoreboard showing a 2-0 Messiah advantage at the end of 90 minutes, the Warriors had dangerous moments throughout the contest and nearly found the equalizer in the 21st minute off a header from Colin Wieand following a corner kick.
 
Messiah did hold a slight, 15-10 advantage in shots, putting a half dozen of their attempts on frame against three from the Warriors.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 13-0-2 overall and improves to 6-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth and takes the driver's seat in the race for the top seed in the conference tournament.

West Continues to Score
Nick West's torrid scoring pace continued on Wednesday night with a pair of tallies against the Warriors. West entered the game as the nation's leading goal scorer with 21 goals and a 13-game scoring streak. Less than 10 minute into the game, West had added to both of those marks by squeezing a goal inside the near post after fighting off a defender following a pass from Justin Brautigam into the right-side of the box. With a defender draped over his left shoulder, West sent a low shot just past the goalie's left hand for a goal on MEssiah's first shot of the night.

After both teams were held scoreless for the next 75-plus minutes the Falcons found their second goal of the night when Samuel Ruiz Plaza dropped off a square pass to West at the top of the box. After a controlling touch to his left, West unleashed a rocket that curled inside the right post to double the Messiah lead in the 84th minute.

With two goals in the match, West now has 23 goals on the year. He not only extends his lead as the Division III leading goal scorer, but now stands alone as the leading goal scorer across all three divisions of the NCAA after University of Denver's Andre Shinyashiki (Division I, 21 goals) was held scoreless on Tuesday vs. Maryland). West is now tied for sixth in program history for goals in a single season with two regular season matches remaining on the schedule.

Strong Defense
While West taking care of things on the offensive end, the Messiah defense was picking up their fifth shutout of the season on Wednesday night. The Falcons' defense allowed a total of 10 shots, but the Warriors put just three attempts on frame and Conner Bell made all three saves.

Lycoming did have a few dangerous moments throughout the match, but Messiah held firm on the defensive end to protect the shutout. The defensive unit of Cooper Robbins, Luke Groothoff, Shay Quintin, Daniel Cole, Trevor Goodling, Conner Bell, among others kept their shape and quieted a physical Lycoming side.

What's Up Next
With the 2-0 victory, Messiah improves to 13-0-2 overall and remains perfect in the MAC Commonwealth with a 6-0-0 record. The Falcons now have just two matches remaining in the regular season with a homecoming game against Widener this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season at Arcadia next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.