GRANTHAM, Pa. - In a two-minute span starting in the 97th minute both the Salisbury Sea Gulls and Messiah Falcons had penalty kick opportunities to put through the golden goal and claim a 1-0 victory. Neither side was able to take advantage of their penalty kick and the back-and-forth, physical battle ended in a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes.
 
Messiah held possession for long stretches of time, owning a 13-9 advantage in shots and a 10-4 edge in attempts on frame.
 
The Falcons also earned 12 corner kicks in the contest while conceding none to the Sea Gulls.
 
Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to local rival Elizabethtown College at 7:00 p.m.
 
Falcons Have Chances
Messiah held a number of opportunities throughout the early portions of Saturday's game with the ball sitting of the doorstep multiple times. Salisbury's defense did not make things easy for the Falcons and the Sea Gulls keeper Ryan Miller made a number of quality saves in the match. Miller finished the night with 10 saves.
 
By the 29th minute, Messiah had already racked up seven shots and four corner kicks. The eighth Messiah shot of the night came on a ball sent into the box that was not controlled by the Sea Gulls' Miller in goal. The ball was poked toward the left post from Ben Lefever, but a deflection off a defender steered the shot off the left post and out of danger for Salisbury.
 
The Falcons had other chances with flurries of activity in the box on a number of occasions, shots form Luke Groothoff in the 37th minute and Matt McDonald in the 44th minute both missed wide while attempts by Groothoff and Cole Cristian in the 41st and 42nd minute, respectively were saved by Miller.
 
Heading to the half, Messiah and Salisbury were scoreless, but the Falcons held a 13-1 advantage in total shots.
 
Even Second-Half
The momentum in the second-half swung back and forth between the Falcons and Sea Gulls. Messiah seemed to have the better of the chances as the game became increasingly chippy. The Sea Gulls were called for eight fouls in the second-half alone while Messiah was not whistled for any in the second 45 minutes.
 
Messiah held a slim 6-5 advantage in shots during the period, but both teams had quality looks with Messiah primarily building moments through possession compared to the more direct attack of the Sea Gulls.
 
Without a goal on the board after 90 minutes, the game turned to overtime.
 
Overtime Penalty Kicks
Five minutes into the first overtime period, Luke Groothoff left his feet for a side-volley bicycle attempt off a cross from Ben Lefever. Groothoff's acrobatic attempt was struck well, but it bounced at the top or the six and over the crossbar.
 
Just moments after Groothoff's attempt, the Falcons were whistled for a foul in the box as the Sea Gulls attempted to counter. The Salisbury player ran onto a long ball over the top and was shoulder-to-shoulder with Cooper Robbins. Both players went down in a heap, but the Falcons were whistled for the foul.
 
A penalty kick was awarded to Salisbury and it looked like the first foul called against the Falcons in 55 minutes would decide the match. Dolph Hegewisch stepped up to take the kick for Salisbury, but his attempt rattled off the crossbar and the Falcons cleared it out of danger.
 
After dodging the penalty kick scare, Messiah had a chance of their own.
 
Just over a minute later, Lucas Kokolios hustled into the left-side of the box and was taken down in a similar fashion to the previous penalty. Messiah was awarded a penalty shot and Robbins stepped up to take it for the Falcons.
 
Even with a crowd of 2,000-plus, you could hear a pin drop on Shoemaker Field as Robbins set-up for his penalty shot. Between the pipes, Salisbury's Miller guessed right and Robbins' initial attempt was saved. Robbins hustled forward for the rebound, poking another shot in, but Miller was up for the challenge, making his second save in as many attempts.
 
Final Efforts
After the wild first overtime period, Messiah had chances for the game-winner in the second overtime period. None were better than Groothoff's rip from downtown that beat the keeper and rattled off the left post. The rebound went to the foot of Ben Lefever in the middle of the box, but traffic in front kept Lefever from getting a quality look off.
 
Moments later the ball was headed into the box and flicked along by Reid Ruark. The redirected header went right into the chest of Miller and the game remained scoreless.
 
Messiah's last chance came in the 110th minute, when Kokolios sent a driven ball into the box from the right side. Messiah had three Falcons in the box, but the ball was knocked down and Messiah was whistled for a foul before a shot could be taken.
 
Even with the late looks, Messiah was unable to find the golden goal and the game ended in a scoreless draw after 110 minutes of play.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will be back on the pitch Wednesday evening when they travel to Elizabethtown to take on the local-rival Blue Jays at 7:00 p.m. Messiah holds an all-time 35-18-2 record against Elizabethtown, but the two sides have not squared off since Sept. 27, 2017 after last season's meeting was rained out.