GRANTHAM, Pa. - In a battle for the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth, the No. 2 Messiah field hockey team dominated the Arcadia Knights to the tune of a 4-0 victory on Homecoming. The Falcons scored a pair of goals in each half en route to the comfortable victory. Four different Falcons scored in the match with Hannah Palm getting the offense going 10:59 into the contest.
 
A backhanded goal from Taylor Wiederrecht followed 10 minutes later and Messiah carried a 2-0 lead into half-time. Goals from Kris Levesque and Casie Stief highlighted the second-half effort as Messiah moves to 15-0 on the season and 6-0 in the conference.
 
The Falcons take over first place in the conference thanks to the victory, handing Arcadia their first conference loss of the year.
 
Messiah held the Knights without a shot in the match while taking 20 of their own, putting 10 on frame in the victory.
 
Building a Lead
Just under 11 minutes into the match, Messiah dented the scoreboard for the first time on the afternoon with a centering pass from Kezia Loht and a redirection from Hannah Palm. Loht carried from the top of the circle towards the right-side and sent a hard, centering pass to Palm in front of the cage for the redirection and the 1-0 lead.
 
Ten minutes later, Messiah doubled their lead with an unassisted goal from Taylor Wiederrecht. A minute after entering the game as a substitute, Wiederrecht found herself in a one-on-one situation with the keeper from right in front of the cage. While her first shot was saved, the rebound went to her backhand and Wiederrecht swatted a shot into the back of the cage for her fourth goal of the season and the 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
Holding Possession
Throughout the contest Messiah dominated the possession battle, controlling the ball for the vast majority of the contest. The Falcons took a total of 20 shots, putting 10 attempts on frame in the game while holding the Knights without a shot in the shutout. It is only the second time this season that Messiah has held an opponent without a shot in a game this year (Sept. 12 vs. Juniata).
 
Adding Insurance
Messiah added a pair of goals in the second-half thanks to tallies from Kris Levesque and Casie Stief. Both second-half goals were assisted by Megan Wetzel. On Levesque's score, Wetzel sent a centering pass from the right-side that found Levesque in front of the cage for the chip-in goal under five minutes into the second-half.
 
In the 46th minute of the match, Casie Stief found the back of the cage off a penalty corner. Wetzel collected the insertion at the top of the circle and slotted a pass to Stief for the big swing. Her shot found an open lane through the traffic in front of the cage as she gave Messiah their eventual winning margin of 4-0.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, Messiah moves to 15-0 on the season and pushes their conference record to 6-0, locking up the top-seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The Falcons have just two games remaining in the regular season with their final conference game at Hood on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season on the road against William Smith next Saturday at 12:00 p.m.