PITTSBURGH, Pa. – No. 2 Messiah women's soccer got off to a blazing start against the No. 10 Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Saturday afternoon in their first road match of the season en route to a 4-1 victory. Messiah struck for two goals in the first nine minutes of the contest thanks to an impressive strike from Sunny Gelnovatch in the third minute from outside the box and a penalty kick goal from Brooke Firestone.
 
Just 10 minutes after a penalty kick goal by the Tartans cut the Falcons' lead to 2-1 in the 11th minute, Messiah struck again with a left-footed tally by Emily Lockwood. Messiah held a 3-1 lead at the half before Maddie Kohl notched an insurance goal in the 57th minute to give the Falcons a 4-1 victory over a top-10 foe.
 
The win improves Messiah to 5-1-0 on the season and they will next take the field on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m. when they travel to Elizabethtown College.
 
Explosive Start
Messiah wasted little time getting on the board in Saturday's match, scoring in the third and ninth minutes to take an early 2-0 lead less than 10 minute into the contest. Sunny Gelnovatch floated a shot to the right post upper 90 after play developed down the left sideline. Gelnovatch took a pass from Firestone and took two dribbles to the middle of the field before launching a shot from 25 yards out that tucked under the bar for a 1-0 lead.
 
Just seven minutes later, the Falcons turned the advantage to 2-0 with a penalty kick goal off the foot of Brooke Firestone. A long ball was played forward from the midfield to Firestone, who was tripped in the box by the Carnegie Mellon keeper. The ensuing penalty kick found the back of the net and gave Messiah the two-goal lead.
 
Adding Insurance
Just two minutes after Firestone converted her penalty kick, Carnegie Mellon scored a penalty kick of their own to pull within one, but Messiah added an insurance goal before the end of the half to hold a 3-1 lead at the break.
 
In the 21st minute, Sarah Strachan playing forward to Firestone who touched the pass over to Emily Lockwood on her right. From outside the box, Lockwood struck a left-footed shot to the near post for her second goal of the season and gave Messiah the 3-1 lead.
 
That lead held into the second-half when Maddie Kohl gained possession in the 57th minute off a defender deflection and took two touches to the right corner of the box. Her shot beat the keeper and gave Messiah the eventual winning score of 4-1.
 
In the Box Score
While the Falcons earned a 4-1 victory on the scoreboard, the box score indicated a much closer contest from start to finish. Messiah was actually slightly outshot in the contest, with the Tartans collecting nine attempts on the night with the Falcons taking eight. The Falcons did however put six of their shots on target, two more than Carnegie Mellon's four.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will now travel to Elizabethtown on Wednesday night for a meeting with the Blue Jays at 5:30 p.m. Last season, the Falcons took care of the Blue Jays 4-0 on Shoemaker Field on Sept. 20.