ARLINGTON, Va. - The No. 1 Messiah women's soccer team was held scoreless in the opening half their match against the Marymount Saints on Wednesday evening, but netted five second-half goals to secure a 5-0 victory. Ellie Lengacher dented the scoreboard first with an unassisted tally in the 51st minute.
 
Sunny Gelnovatch and Rachael Tirjan added scores within six minutes of each other in the 62nd and 68th minutes, respectively, before Kylie Firestone and Rebecca Ritchie netted late tallies for insurance in the 5-0 Messiah victory.
 
The Falcons controlled possession throughout the entirety of Wednesday's game, out shooting the Saints 34-1 in the match.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 7-1-0 on the season and will next take the field on Saturday night on the road against the Misericordia Cougars at 7:30 p.m.
 
Falcons Holds Possessions, Creates Chances
Messiah controlled the pace of play on Wednesday night, ripping 34 shots against just one, off target attempt from the Saints. The Falcons put a total of 25 shots on frame, including 12 on-goal shots in the opening half. Despite the disparity in possession, shots, and opportunities the game was tied at the break with Messiah unable to break the seal.
 
The Falcons first eight attempts of the night went on frame, but Saints' keeper Maia Pappadakis turned each shot away and the game remained tied. On the night, Pappadakis made a career-high 20 saves with a dozen coming in the first 45 minutes. Pappadakis' previous career-high was 13 against Randolph-Macon over the weekend.
 
Five Different Goal Scorers Highlight Second-Half
After a scoreless opening half, Messiah got the party started with a tally from Ellie Lengacher in the 51st minute. Lengacher's second goal of the season broke the seal and was the first of five second-half goals for the Falcons.
 
After Lengacher's score the final two goals came in pairs for the Falcons. Messiah netted their second of the evening from Sunny Gelnovatch in the 62nd minute with an assist from Rebecca Ritchie. Just six minutes later, Messiah was at it again, thanks to the second-career goal from Rachael Tirjan. Emily D'Amico picked up the assist on Tirjan's score and Messiah held a 3-0 lead with just over 20 minutes remaining.
 
With less than 10 minutes remaining, it looked like the Falcons would claim a 3-0 victory, but a pair of late goals would give the Falcons the 5-0 decision. Kylie Firestone netted her second goal of the year off a feed from Korinne Kovatch in the 85th minute and just two minutes later Rebecca Ritchie put through a penalty kick goal for the capper on a 5-0 Messiah victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will now head to Dallas, Pa. on Saturday evening to take on the Misericordia Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Messiah owns an 8-0-1 record against the Cougars all-time with the Falcons claiming a 1-0 victory in last year's meeting on Sept. 22 in Grantham.