ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Messiah men's soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 4-1 victory over the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Messiah moves on to face No. 11 Rensseler Polytechnic Institute (RPI) after the Engineers earned a penalty kick shootout win over Middlebury, following a 0-0 draw in the Second Round.
 
Messiah struck first on Sunday with goals in the 21st and 25th minutes from Lucas Kokolios and Trevor Goodling, respectively. The Red Dragons connected late in the half to make it a 2-1 Messiah lead at the break.
 
After the half, Reid Ruark connected off a corner kick delivery from Christian Valen in the 65th minute and Grant Johnson converted a penalty kick in the 75th minute to complete the scoring.
 
Messiah outshot the Red Dragons 21-13 in the match, holding a comfortable 14-5 edge in shots during the second half.
 
With the victory, Messiah advances to their 23rd Sweet 16 game in program history. The Falcons will play RPI in the Sweet 16 on Nov. 23 at a time and location to be determined.
 
Koko and Goody Give Falcons Early Lead
The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead after just 25 minutes of play thanks to tallies from Lucas Kokolios and Trevor Goodling. After the Red Dragons registered the first two shots of the afternoon, with attempts blocked in the sixth and 10th minutes, Messiah took control of the game with a goal in the 21st minute off the foot of Kokolios.
 
Micah Fitz found Kokolios in the box. After a controlling touch, Kokolios let a shot go towards the left post. The attempt deflected off the hand of the Red Dragons' keeper before settling in the back of the net for a 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
Just four minutes later the Falcons struck again with Trevor Goodling tapping in his own rebound for a 2-0 lead. Reid Ruark sent a ball over top of the Oneonta defense, allowing Goodling to get behind the backline into a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. With the Red Dragons' keeper off his line, Goodling attempted to chip him sending a ball toward the left post. The initial shot rattled off the post, but Goodling was there to collect his own miss and tap in the rebound to the open net.
 
The tally was Goodling's third score in two NCAA Tournament games this weekend and his third-straight game with a goal.
 
National Leader Counters
Messiah held their 2-0 lead for a little over 10 minutes, but the Red Dragons countered in the 36th minute with a goal from the nation's leading scorer, Witman Hernandez. Jeremy Pantoni sent a cross for the Red Dragons in from the right side. His delivery bounced at the six and Hernandez hustled onto the ball. In the scramble, it appeared as if the ball hit Hernandez's arm before nestling in the back of the net, but the goal counted and Messiah's lead was cut in half.
The score was Hernandez's 26th of the season, he currently leads all NCAA divisions in goals scored.
 
Two More Scores Lift Falcons to Next Weekend
Messiah took the 2-1 lead into the half before netting a pair of goals in the second half to put the Second-Round game away. In the 65th minute, Christian Valen delivered a corner kick into the middle of the box for Reid Ruark. The header from Ruark beat the keeper and gave Messiah a 3-1 advantage.
 
Just 10 minutes later, Luke Groothoff was taken down inside the box and Messiah was awarded a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Grant Johnson stepped up and converted the penalty kick to give the Falcons the eventual winning score of 4-1.
 
Messiah held a commanding 14-5 advantage in shots in the second half while out cornering the Red Dragons 7-1 on the afternoon.
 
What's Up Next
With the 4-1 victory, the Falcons move into the Sweet 16 for the 23rd time in program history. Messiah will take on RPI on Saturday, Nov. 23 at a time and location to be determined. The Engineers are making their first-ever appearance in the second weekend of the Tournament. Messiah and RPI have never met before in men's soccer.
 
RPI advanced to the Sweet 16 after drawing Middlebury 0-0 on Sunday. The Engineers earned a 5-3 penalty kick shootout victory over the Panthers to secure their spot in next weekend's bracket.