WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Amid a heavy rainfall in Williamsport on Wednesday, the No. 17 Messiah men's soccer team held after a wild final minutes for a 1-0 victory over the Lycoming Warriors. With less than two minutes remaining, the Falcons cleared a corner kick off the goal line to claim the 1-0 victory.
 
Brit Haseltine accounted for the only goal in the contest, collecting a rebound off a Micah Fitz shot in the 33rd minute to Falcons on the board. That was all the offense the Falcons would need on the afternoon.
 
Playing with substantial rainfall throughout the match, both teams struggled to find their footing on the turf. Despite wet footing, Messiah held a 16-7 advantage in shots in the contest and Nate Flanders made three saves for the Falcons in the victory.
 
With the win, Messiah moves to 10-2-2 overall and now holds a perfect 4-0-0 record in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
The Falcons will be back in action on Homecoming when they host the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
 
Early Attempts
In the early going both the Flacons and Warriors hand a small handful of attempts. It was the Warriors registering three of the first four attempts in the opening minutes, with a shot in the sixth minute and two more in the 13th minute. Flanders was forced to the second of those three attempts off a strike from Josh Cruz to keep the game scoreless.
 
Messiah had their first shot in the ninth minute from Ben Lefever and then took an on-target attempt by Lucas Kokolios in the 15th minute.  
 
Haseltine Gives Messiah the Lead
After neither team was able to find a scoring moment in the early going, Micah Fitz collected a square pass from the midfield just outside the box on the right side in the 33rd minute. After a pair of touches to get the ball on his left foot, Fitz ripped a shot from just outside the box toward the left post. His initial shot squeezed between a pair of defenders and went on frame where Kevin Kelly, the diving Lycoming keeper, saved the shot, but could not control the save.
 
The slick ball trickled away from Kelly. While the Lycoming defense watched the play develop, Brit Haseltine hustled onto the rebound and tapped the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
The tally was Haseltine's first of the season and the 14th of his career.
 
After Haseltine's goal the remaining 12 minutes of the half was played primarily in the midfield. Neither team recorded a shot during the final stretch until Lycoming's Joey Francis ripped a shot wide as the halftime horn sounded.
 
Messiah held a slim 7-5 lead in shots after 45 minutes of play.
 
Second-Half Pressure
Playing with a 1-0 lead, Messiah continued to put pressure on the Warriors with seven shots in the first 35 minutes of the half. Of those seven attempts, only one shot by Luke Groothoff in the 52nd minute went on frame and the Messiah lead remained 1-0.
 
Wild Finish
Things got interesting in the final 10 minutes of the game with Colin Wieand send two shots on frame down the stretch. Nate Flanders made a save in the 83rd minute before a wild moment in the 88th minute.
 
Lycoming earned a corner kick with two minutes remaining and send a dangerous ball toward the back post. Weiand was there to get a foot on it and send the attempt toward the right post. With Flanders stuck behind the crowd in the box, Messiah had to rely on a defender to clear the ball off the line. It looked for a moment as if the shot crossed the goal line, but after the officials conferred it was ruled the Falcons cleared the ball safely out of danger.
 
After withstanding the final minutes, Messiah was able to hold on for the 1-0 victory, improving to 10-2-2 on the season and holding a perfect, 4-0-0 record in conference play.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Shoemaker Field at 6:00 p.m. on Homecoming. The Falcons hold a 43-2-0 all-time record against the Dutchmen.