GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 2 Messiah women's soccer team scored three goals in each half en route to a 6-1 victory over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Saturday afternoon. Six different Falcons found the back of the net with Kayla Herr, Maddie Kohl, Sunny Gelnovatch, Shelby Burger, Brooke Firestone, and Brianna Seip all tallying in the contest.
 
The Dutchmen scored early in the second half, but Messiah's pressure was too much as the Falcons move to 13-1-1 on the season with the 6-1 victory.
 
Messiah will be back in action this Wednesday when they travel to Hood to take on the Blazers at 7:00 p.m.
 
Falcons Tally Three in Opening Half
Messiah registered five shots in the first four minutes of the contest with Maddie Kohl putting an attempt on goal in the first minute. Her shot was saved and the Falcons followed with two blocked attempts from Kayla Herr and Sunny Gelnovatch before Kohl and Brooke Firestone missed the frame.
 
In the seventh minute, the Dutchmen had their first dangerous moment of the game when the Falcons passed possession back to Lydia Ewing in goal. Ewing's touch leaked toward Lucy McGloshen in the middle of the box. McGloshen took a quick shot, but Ewing was there with a diving save to keep the game scoreless.
 
The Falcons would get on the board just four minutes later with a header from Kayla Herr in the 11th minute. Messiah earned a corner kick on the right side and Maddie Kohl swung a perfect ball to the back post for Kayla Herr. A clean header from Herr found the back of the net and Messiah led 1-0.
 
Ten minutes later, the Falcons would strike again. The rebound of an Ellie Lengacher shot found the foot of Maddie Kohl outside the box. Kohl created some space before ripping a shot that was still rising when it hit the twine. The strike to the upper right corner, gave Messiah a 2-0 lead in the 21st minute. 
 
The third Messiah goal of the contest was one of the most impressive. In the 28th minute, Kohl swung a corner kick to the far post toward Lengacher. A header from Lengacher re-centered the ball into the middle of the box when Sunny Gelnovatch was waiting to hammer home a header for the 3-0 Messiah lead.
 
Three More After the Break
Just five minutes into the second half, Shelby Burger found the back of the net thanks to an assist from Maddie Kohl. Carrying down the right side, Kohl sent a centering pass into the middle of the box. Burger ran onto the pass along with a defender and the Dutchmen keeper. Burger got to it first and tapped the feed past the keeper for the 4-0 lead and her first career goal.
 
In the 62nd minute, Messiah found their fifth goal of the night when Abby Monko drove to the end line and sent a cross to the top of the six. Brooke Firestone was there waiting for the delivery. Firestone headed the cross into the back of the net for her 14th goal of the year.
 
The Falcons capped off their scoring in the 65th minute when a shot from Brook Firestone rattled off the post. Brianna Seip was right there for the rebound and slotted though the sixth and final goal for the Falcons on the afternoon.
 
Between the goals from Burger and Firestone, Lebanon Valley found their moment of brilliance thanks to a stellar effort from Lindsey Topper. Off a free kick from around midfield, the Dutchmen sent a ball into the box. After it bounced around, Topper popped the ball into the air before delivering a quality strike inside the left post. The goal momentarily cut the lead to three at 4-1.
 
Messiah capped off the game with goals from Firestone and Seip to claim the 6-1 victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, the Falcons improve to 13-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers at 7:00 p.m. Messiah holds a 7-0-0 all-time record against Hood.