GRANTHAM, Pa. - On an untimed penalty corner at the end of regulation and the Falcons clinging to a 3-2 lead against the No. 7 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats, Megan Bomba made a save on a high shot to give the Falcons a one-goal victory.
 
Earlier in the night, Messiah took leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but needed a strong defensive effort in the final minutes to preserve the one-goal, upset victory over the Diplomats. Bomba finished the night with three saves, all coming in the final quarter.
 
Messiah collected tallies from Jess Davis, Hannah Palm, and Taylor Wiederrecht with Davis and Palm scoring within 35 seconds of each other in the first half and Wiederrecht netting a third-quarter score.
 
The victory is Messiah's second win over a top-20 team on the season and improves the Falcons to 5-4 on the season. Messiah will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Arcadia on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Falcons Strike First...And Second
The Falcons' offense came out swinging, tallying two shots from Taylor Wiederrecht in the fourth minute and sixth minute before being awarded a penalty stroke in the eighth minute. Just one game after striking her first career goal, sophomore Jess Davis stepped up to take the stroke and rifled it past the keeper to take an early 1-0 lead over the Diplomats. Just a mere 34 seconds later, the Falcons doubled their lead to 2-0 when Josie Weaver slotted the ball to Hannah Palm who found the back of the cage in the ninth minute. 

The two goals for the Falcons would be the highlight of the first period as Messiah held the Diplomats to just on shot, coming in the 15th minute.

Diplomats On The Board
The Falcons kept the pressure going in the second period, earning a penalty corner in the 19th minute. Following the corner, Messiah struck two shots across a span of six seconds but failed to find the cage. Hannah Palm was looking for her second goal of the night in the 21st minute, sending her shot on frame but the Diplomats' goalie was there to make the save. 

After the heavy pressure from the Falcons, Franklin and Marshall stole the run of play and was awarded their first penalty corner of the night in the 23rd minute of the game. Coming out of the corner, the Diplomats cut the Falcons' lead in half as they slotted one to the back of the cage to pull within one at 2-1. 

Trading Goals
With a 2-1 lead, the Falcons came out of the halftime break ready to strike as Nicole Shank ripped a shot 46 seconds into the second half. Shank's shot was blocked but the Falcons maintained possession to keep the pressure on. Five minutes after Shank's chance, Taylor Wiederrecht took a shot that was blocked but picked up the rebound and beat the goalie to give Messiah a 3-1 lead in the 41st minute. 

With 1:04 remaining in the third period, the Diplomats earned a penalty corner and capitalized on the opportunity to pull within one once more at 3-2.

Defense Prevails, Bomba Saves
Despite having the 3-2 lead, the Falcons were playing with their backs against the wall in the fourth period. The Diplomats earned their third penalty corner of the game 1:43 into the period and sent the resulting shot just wide. 32 seconds later, senior goalie Megan Bomba recorded her first save of the game to hold off the Diplomats. Bomba wouldn't be done just yet as Franklin and Marshall's offense kept the pressure on late in the fourth period. In the 57th minute, the Diplomats were looking for the equalizer after earning a penalty corner but their initial shot was blocked. Just seconds after the blocked shot, Franklin and Marshall ripped another shot but Bomba was there once more to keep the Falcons' 3-2 lead. With 2:42 remaining in regulation, the Diplomats earned their fifth corner of the night before earning an untimed corner to try to push this contest into overtime. With no time remaining, the Diplomats sent in a high shot on frame but Megan Bomba was there to make here third save of the night and give Messiah the 3-2 victory over the No. 7 Diplomats.

What's Up Next
The Falcons are now 5-4 on the season and will travel to Arcadia University to take on the Knights on Oct. 5 at 1:00 p.m.