GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 3 Messiah women's soccer team scored twice in the opening period before adding an insurance goal late to earn a 3-0 victory over the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on a beautiful Saturday evening on Shoemaker Field. Maddie Kohl started the scoring for the Falcons in the 26th minute while Kylie Firestone and Rebecca Ritchie added insurance tallies to give Messiah their fifth game of the season.
 
Messiah held possession for a majority of the contest, but the Tartans were dangerous at times, especially in the opening minutes of the contest. Messiah keeper, Lydia Ewing, was forced to make three saves, all in the opening half.
 
The Falcons move to 5-1-0 on the season and will be back in action on Saturday when the Denison Big Red come to town at 1:00 p.m.
 
End-to-End Start
The opening stretch of Saturday evening's game was a frantic pace from end line to end line. During the stretch, both the Falcons and Tartans had quality chances with each team putting three shots on target. Not only did each team have three shots on goal, but both had breakaway opportunities that were turned away by their respective goalies.
 
In the 10th minute, Helena Spencer had a one-on-one with Lydia Ewing on a counter attack after Messiah shot was turned away just second earlier. On the breakaway Ewing went into a slide and somehow corralled the shot from Spencer after a collision in the middle of the box.
 
Just 12 minutes later, Brooke Firestone had nearly an identical chance on the other side of the field. Like Spencer minutes earlier, Firestone was turned away by a sliding attempt from Carolyn Botz for the Tartans.
 
Kohl Breaks Through
Despite the early chances, the game remained tied into the 26th minute when Messiah sent a ball in the mix. The Tartans attempted to clear the ball out of danger, but the clearance went to the foot of Maddie Kohl at the top of the box. After a controlling touch, Kohl sent a high arcing shot into the left-side netting for her third goal of the season.
 
Firestone's First Career Tally
After Messiah peppered Botz between the pipes with three shots on goal in the six minutes following the initial tally, the game settled down for a few minutes. With play primarily in the midfield until the 39th minute when Kylie Firestone connected on the first goal of her career. Emily D'Amico played Firestone a ball just inside the top of the box and Firestone ripped a strike into the right netting.
 
The tally doubled the Falcons lead, giving Messiah a 2-0 advantage with less than seven minutes remaining in the opening half.
 
Messiah would hold that two-goal advantage into halftime.
 
Ritchie Adds Insurance
Just as they did in the opening half, Messiah controlled possession throughout the final 45 minutes of the match, allowing just a single shot to the Tartans in the second half. The Falcons took nine shots of their own during the period, but were unable to find an insurance goal until the 83rd minute when Rebecca Ritchie connected off a pass from Brooke Firestone. After dribbling around the keeper to the left side, Firestone sent a ball into the middle of the box for Ritchie, who tapped home her second goal in as many games.
 
Messiah held on for the 3-0 victory and improved to 5-1-0 on the season. The Falcons held a 10-5 advantage in shots. Messiah put 11 of their attempts on frame against just three from the Tartans.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will be off in the middle of this week and will next take the field on Saturday, Sept. 21 when they host the Denison Big Red at 1:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field. Saturday's game will be the fifth-ever meeting between the Falcons and Big Red, but the first since 2010 when the Falcons earned a 4-0 victory on Sept. 25.