GRANTHAM, Pa. - Six different Falcons scored as the top-seeded Messiah field hockey team disposed of the fourth-seeded Lebanon Valley Dutchmen by a 7-0 final in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal on Wednesday night. The Falcons scored two goals in the first three-plus minutes of the contest en route to their largest offensive showing of the season.
 
Messiah advances to play the third-seeded Arcadia Knights, who earned a 3-1 victory on the road over the second-seeded Alvernia Golden Wolves on Wednesday night.
 
The Falcons will host the Knights at 1:00 p.m. on Anderson Field in the MAC Commonwealth Championship Match.

Early Lead
The Falcons scored early and often in their biggest offensive display in over a year (9-0 win vs. Hood on Oct. 18, 2017). Hannah Palm sparked the offense with a goal just 1:04 into the match when she pushed through a shot from the right-side to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

Fresh off being named Co-Offensive Player of the Year in the conference, Kezia Loht doubled the Falcons' lead exactly two minutes later with a goal off a penalty corner. Loht inserted the corner from the left-side to Megan Wetzel at the top of the circle and Wetzel delivered a perfect pass to the near post for Loht who just touched the pass into the back of the cage for her seventh goal of the season.

Ten minutes after Loht's tally, Casie Stief sent a long centering pass from the right-side that somehow snuck through traffic in front of the cage to Kristen Musser on the left-side. From a tough angle, Musser sent a hard shot over an outstretched goalie's arms and in for the 3-0 lead.

The Falcons were at it again off a penalty corner with Taylor Wiederrecht getting the last touch on a goal in the 19th minute of the match. Like Loht earlier, Wiederrecht inserted the corner and then got to the near post. Following a handful of quick passes, Wetzel sent a pass to Wiederrecht for the tap in and the 4-0 lead.

Not Looking Back
Just before the half, another penalty corner goal gave the Falcons a 5-0 advantage heading into the break. Megan Wetzel delivered a rip from the top of the circle and Emily Knepp deflected the shot past the goalie for her second goal of the season.

The Falcons tacked on two insurance goals in the first seven minutes of the second half with Musser ripping another shot past the goalie at shoulder height and Casie Stief sending a high-arching shot over the defense off a penalty corner for the seventh, and final, tally of the night for the Falcons.

Messiah took 23 shots in the match while holding the Dutchmen to just two attempts in the match. Both shots from Lebanon Valley were on cage with goalies Shelby Landes and Megan Bomba each making a save while each covering a half between the pipes.

On to the Championship
As mentioned the Falcons now advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship Match on Saturday afternoon against the third-seeded Arcadia Knights. Since the Falcons hold the top seed, the match will be played on Anderson Field. When the Falcons and Knights met on Oct. 20, Messiah earned a 4-0 victory over Arcadia while outshooting the Knights 20-0.

Messiah will be looking for their 12th-straight MAC Commonwealth Title on Saturday afternoon while the Knights enter their first conference championship game since 2002, when they were a member of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, in search of the program's first conference title.

The MAC Commonwealth Championship Match is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Anderson Field.