GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team scored a pair of goals in each half en route to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Whitworth Pirates on Saturday night. For the second night in a row, Brooke Firestone led the charge for the Falcons with a pair of goals. Maddie Kohl scored her second goal in as many games and Julia Kyne added her first of the year to account for the four tallies in Messiah's second-straight 4-0 victory to open the 2018 season.
 
Messiah racked up 30 shots in the contest against just three for the Pirates, while also holing a substantial advantage in corner kicks, 14-1.
 
The Falcons are next in action against the No. 6 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Wednesday night on Shoemaker Field in an early season top-10 showdown.
 
How it Happened
Brooke Firestone got the night started for the Falcons for the second-straight night, scoring a goal in the 12th minute to give Messiah an early lead. Esther Seeland started the sequence with a shot from outside the box that was blocked to the foot of Julia Kyne. The one-touch from Kyne found Brooke Firestone in the middle of the box and the junior forward hit the one-timer to the left post for the first goal of the contest.
 
Messiah continued to press, looking for the second goal, but the score remained 1-0 until the final 10 minutes of the half. In the 37th minute, the Pirates attempted to clear the ball out of their defensive end, but it only went as far as Maddie Kohl in the midfield. The sophomore took a half dozen touches and dodged a defender before ripping a left-footed strike from the top of the box to double the Messiah lead to 2-0 heading into halftime.
 
The second-half saw Messiah add two more goals, the first of their pair came in the 68th minute. Emily D'Amico pushed her way into the left corner and sent cross on the ground to the top of the six where Julia Kyne touched it home for a 3-0 Messiah lead.
 
Just eight minutes later, Firestone found her fourth goal of the season and second of the match with an incredible individual effort. In the 76th minute, Whitworth attempted to regroup and sent a ball backwards, but Firestone was there to pick off the pass. A touch forward got her around the first defender on the right-side before pushing into the box and eluding another defender to create enough space for a right-footed shot. Firestone snuck the shot inside of the left post and gave Messiah the 4-0 advantage.
 
Performance to Highlight
Firestone is off to a stellar start with four goals in two games. Prior to Friday, Firestone had just one career multi-goal game, but after two tallies on Friday and two more on Saturday she ends the weekend with three in her career. Julia Kyne ended the night with a goal and an assist while D'Amico registered her first assist of the season on Kyne's score in the second-half.
 
After scoring one goal last season, Maddie Kohl has netted a pair of tallies in the opening weekend to begin the season.
 
The Falcons' defense was strong for the second-straight night, allowing just three shots and earning their second clean sheet of the season. Through two games, Messiah has allowed just five shots and only three on target.
 
In the Box Score
Saturday's match was one controlled by the Falcons on the field and the box score reflects the same. Messiah outshot the Pirates 30-3 in the contest and earned a 14-1 advantage in corner kicks as well.
 
Messiah put a total of eight shots on goal, with five different Falcons putting shots on frame.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will square off with Johns Hopkins on Wednesday night on Shoemaker Field. The annual match between the Falcons and Blue Jays is always one that holds implications on the National and Regional Rankings. This year is no different with the Falcons and Blue Jays ranked fifth and sixth, respectively. The match is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 5.