GRANTHAM, Pa. - Four first-half goals in the span of five minutes from Ellie Lengacher and Brooke Firestone propelled the No. 1 Messiah women's soccer team to a 5-0 victory over the Stevenson Mustangs on Tuesday night. Lengacher tallied in the 16th minute off a feed from Shelby Burger to get Messiah on the board. Three minutes later, Lengacher struck again, this time off a feed from Brooke Firestone.

Firestone found the back of the net twice in the 20th and 21st minutes, both from Lengacher assists.

In the second half, Kayla Herr found the back of the net in the 55th minute to carry the Falcons to the five-goal win.

With the victory, the Falcons improve to 7-0-1 in the conference and lock up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Messiah finishes the regular season with an overall record of 16-1-1 and will be next in action on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m. against the winner of the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game on Monday.

First-Half Flurry
After a relatively quiet opening 15 minutes, the Falcons struck for the first time in the 16th minute off a sliding shot from Ellie Lengacher. Shelby Burger sent a ball forward to Lengacher from the midfield. With defenders on either side, Lengacher ran onto the feed and slotted a ball from the middle of the box into the back of the net for the 1-0 Messiah lead.

The Falcons' 1-0 lead held for just over three minutes when Lengacher tallied again. Brooke Firestone carried the ball all the way down to the endline on the left side before sending a low cross to Lengaacher at the near post. Prior to Firestone's cross, the ball looked as if it crossed the endline for a goal kick. With no whistle blown, Messiah continued to play while the Mustangs looked for an out-of-bounds call. From the near post, Lengacher slotted in her second goal of the game to give Messiah a 2-0 lead in the 19th minute.

In the 20th minute it was Brooke Firestone's turn to get on the scoresheet. Firestone ran onto a long ball forward from Lengacher. Using her left foot, Firestone found the right netting for the 3-0 Messiah lead. Firestone would replicate the tally less than a minute later with another left-footed strike from nearly the same spot in the left-side of the box. Lengacher again would register the tally with a through ball finding a streaking Firestone.

Firestone's second tally of the half would be the final goal for the Falcons in the period. Messiah led 18-2 in the shots during the first 45 minutes while putting eight shots on frame during the period. Stevenson took a pair of shots, putting both on goal.

Second-Half Insurance
The Falcons struck 10 minutes into the second half with their final goal of the contest. Messiah played a corner short in the 55th minute and Abby Monko delivered a ball into the box for Kayla Herr. The cross bounced into the box and Herr roofed a shot into the top netting for the fifth tally of the match. The score was the fourth of the season for Herr.

Messiah continued to pressure throughout the remainder of the period, taking a total of 32 shots in the contest. The Falcons put 12 shots on frame and earned a total of six corners in the 5-0 victory.

What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah claims the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament thanks to a 7-0-1 conference record during the regular season. The Falcons finish the regular season with a 16-1-1 overall record and will take more than a week off before their next game in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals next Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field. The Falcons will play the winner of the Play-In game that will take place on Monday night. Check GoMessiah.com next week for more information about the match.