WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The No. 2 Messiah women's soccer team scored five goals in the opening half and three more after the break to earn an 8-0 over the Lycoming Warriors on Tuesday afternoon. Brooke Firestone and Rachael Tirjan tallied a pair of goals each as six different Falcons collected scores in the contest.
 
Messiah outshot the Warriors 39-4 in the contest.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 12-1-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons are back in action on Saturday when they host the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen at 3:30 p.m. as part of Homecoming on Shoemaker Field.
 
Building a Lead
The Falcons used consistent pressure in the opening half to build a 5-0 lead at the break. Brooke Firestone started the scoring in the 14th minute with a left-footed strike from the top of the box off a fee from Ellie Lengacher. After stripping her defender, Lengacher poked a pass over to Firestone, who wasted no time beating the keeper to her left for the 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
Just five minutes later, Maddie Kohl doubled the Messiah lead with a inswinging corner kick that just barely crossed the line. Her delivery into the box went right to the goalmouth where a defender tried to clear it away, but it was ruled that the clearance came after the ball had crossed the goal line for a goal directly off the corner and a 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
In the 29th minute Firestone struck again, this time off a feed from Sunny Gelnovatch to give the Falcons a 3-0 advantage with less than 17 minutes remaining in the opening half.
 
Messiah was not done in the opening half, with Rebecca Ritchie chipping a pass to Brianna Seip in the 37th minute. Ritchie's feed came from the right side of the box toward Seip at the top of the 18. After a controlling touch, Seip sent a shot inside the right post as she was sliding to the turf.
 
The Falcons' final goal of the opening half came with just over a minute remaining in the period. Mallory Johnson found Brianna Carter on the left side for a cross into the middle of the box. The feed from Carter found the head of Rachael Tirjan, who redirected the delivery past the Warriors' keeper for a 5-0 halftime lead.
 
Controlling Possession
The Falcons controlled the pace of play for the entirety of the game, taking 39 shots against just three from the Warriors. Messiah sent 14 attempts on frame while holding Lycoming without a shot on goal.
 
Messiah registered three second-half goals with Kayla Herr, Rachael Tirjan, and Rebecca Ritchie finding the back of the net as the Falcons earned the 8-0 victory.
 
In the 48th minute, Sunny Gelnovatch sent a pass to a wide-open Kayla Herr outside the box. From 22 yards out, Herr cranked a right-footed strike that beat a diving keeper to her left for the Falcons' sixth goal of the day. The tally was Herr's second goal of the season.
 
In the 82nd minute, Rebecca Ritchie and Mallory Johnson connected a pass in the midfield before sending a through ball ahead to Rachael Tirjan in the box. Tirjan beat her defender and then found the back of the net in a one-one-one situation with the Lycoming keeper.
 
Just over two minutes later, Rebecca Ritchie netted the eighth and final goal for the Falcons. Brianna Seip tapped a pass to Richie in the box. Richie created some space to her left before sending a shot into the right-side netting.
 
What's Up Next
With the 8-0 victory, Messiah improves to 12-1-1 on the season and now owns a 3-0-1 record in the MAC Commonwealth. Messiah will be back in action this weekend when they host the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as part of the 2019 Homecoming festivities. Messiah owns a 34-0-1 all-time record against the Dutchmen.