GRANTHAM, Pa. - Maddie Kohl struck for the Falcons just six minutes into the season opener as No. 5 Messiah women's soccer blanked the Grove City Wolverines 3-0 on Friday evening. Kohl added a second goal early in the second-half and Ellie Lengacher capped off the scoring with a goal in the final minutes of play.
 
Messiah dominated possession throughout the contest, finishing with a 37-3 advantage in total shots.
 
The victory was a historic one for head coach Scott Frey. In the first game of his 20th season at the helm of the women's soccer program, Frey claimed his 400th victory, needing just 449 games to reach the lofty milestone. He becomes just the 16th coach in NCAA women's or men's soccer history with 400 wins across all three divisions. His career record currently stands at 400-23-26, a .920 winning percentage.
 
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday night when they host the No. 24 Stevens Ducks at 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
 
Kohl Strikes Gold Early
Messiah put early pressure on the Wolverines with three shots in the first five minutes. After attempts from Brooke Firestone and Megan Mansfield were blocked and saved, respectively, Maddie Kohl connected on the Falcons' third shot of the game to take a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the match.
 
With play pulling a majority of the Grove City defense and Messiah offense into the left corner, Maddie Kohl leaked toward the middle of the box awaiting a cross with just one defender hovering in her area. The cross came from the foot of Ellie Lengacher and Kohl met the ball at the right corner of the six and with a one-touch shot, skillfully tucked the ball inside the right post for the 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
Falcons Win the Territory Battle
For the remainder of the opening half, Messiah looked to increase their lead, sending 16 shots toward goal. However, only five of the 16 attempts went on frame during the final 40 minutes of the half and Grove City keeper Columbia Harkrader turned all five shots on goal away.
 
Across the full 90 minutes of the game, Messiah held a 37-3 advantage in shots, sending 19 on goal. The Falcons snuck three past Harkrader, but the junior goalkeeper did make a career-high 16 saves in the loss.
 
In addition to the lopsided shot totals, Messiah held possession for about two thirds of the game, owning control of the ball for 68% of the match. Messiah spent 75% of their time with the ball on the attack and in Grove City territory.
 
Second-Half Goals Seal the Deal
Messiah kept the pressure high with 18 more shots coming in the final 45 minutes of play. A dozen of those 18 attempts went on frame with a pair finding the back of the net. In the 53rd minute, Maddie Kohl doubled the Messiah lead to 2-0 with her second goal of the evening. Brooke Firestone slipped a pass to Lengacher on the left-side of the box for a quick shot. Her rip was blocked by Harkrader in goal, but could be corralled and Kohl was standing on the doorstep for the easy tap in. The goal marked the second Lengacher to Kohl connection of the game.

Thirty-five minutes later, the duo reversed the roles with Kohl feeding Lengacher for a beautiful left-footed strike from the top of the box in the 88th minute to put the cherry on top of the 3-0, shutout victory.
 
Brooke Firestone led the Falcons with 12 shots, putting nine on frame and two more off the crossbar.
 
Frey Wins No. 400
With the victory, head coach Scott Frey notched his 400th career victory as head coach for the Messiah women's soccer team. Just starting his 20th season, Frey's record stands at 400-23-26, a .920 win percentage that is the best-ever among all NCAA Division I, II, or III men's or women's soccer coaches with at least 10 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level.
 
Frey's 400 wins with Messiah include five NCAA Division III National Championships and 16 conference champions. In his first 19 seasons, Messiah has won at least 20 games 13 times and his teams have never suffered more than three losses in a single season.
 
What's Up Next
On Saturday night, Messiah will host the No. 24 Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks in an early-season, Top-25 match-up. In the previous six meetings against the Ducks, Messiah owns a 4-1-1 record with the two sides finishing in a scoreless draw in their previous meeting on Sept. 1, 2017.