GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's soccer team claimed a key 3-0 victory over the No. 3 John Carroll Blue Streaks on Saturday afternoon. Three different Falcons netted tallies in the contest with Micah Fitz, Lucas Kokolios, and Luke Groothoff finding the back of the net in the shutout victory.
 
Fitz got the Falcons on the board with some fancy footwork in the 32nd minute, dribbling around the keeper before tapping in the initial goal. In the second-half, Kokolios and Groothoff found the twine to give Messiah the 3-0 victory.

The Falcons improve to 6-2-2 on the season and will be back in action next Saturday when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves in their MAC Commonwealth season opener at 7:30 p.m.
 
First-Half Lead
Messiah and John Carroll played the majority of the opening half in the midfield on Saturday afternoon. Messiah held slightly more possession during the opening stretch, but were unable to generate dangerous moments in the attacking third in the early going. After 25 minutes, John Carroll held a 4-2 advantage in shots.
 
Messiah was first to get on the board in the 32nd minute thanks to a quality touch by Micah Fitz around the Blue Streaks' keeper. Brit Haseltine sent a long ball down the right sideline, creating a footrace between Fitz and the outside back. The defender reached the ball first with his touch coming on the edge of the box. With Fitz on his back, the defender played the ball to his keeper, but the pass never reached its intended target. Fitz picked off the pass, touched around the keeper into a wide-open box, and slotted his shot into the empty net for the 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
Second-Half Chances
After the half, both the Falcons and Blue Streaks had opportunities in the early portions of the second half. John Carroll earned a free kick right in front of their bench in the 48th minute and sent a ball toward the back post, but it was cleared out of bounce for a corner kick. The ensuing corner kick was knocked around the box for a few moments, before Messiah could clear the ball out of danger.
 
Despite the Blue Streaks holding possession in the box, they were unable to send a shot on frame. Messiah held John Carroll without an on-goal attempt for the entirety of the match.
 
Messiah also had quality moments in the beginning of the second-half as they looked to double their lead. In the 52nd minute, Micah Fitz worked his way to the baseline and slotted a ball back to the top of the box, but Luke Groothoff could not connect on the feed and the score remained 1-0.
 
Extending the Advantage
Messiah would extend their lead in the 61st minute thanks to Lucas Kokolios. After taking a feed from the midfield about 40 yards from goal, Kokolios carried the ball all the way to the box, taking advantage of green-space in front of him. After splitting a pair of defenders as he entered the box, Kokolios took one touch and ripped a low shot with his left foot to the right post, putting the strike in the side netting for his second goal of the season and a 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
The Falcons would add one more tally in the 85th minute when the Micah Fitz sent a corner kick to the middle of the box for Luke Groothoff. Rising above the pack, Groothoff hammered a header into the back of the net for his second goal in as many games.
 
Groothoff's header would be the final score in a 3-0 victory for the Falcons. Messiah outshot the Blue Streaks 15-9 in the contest, putting seven shots on frame while allowing no shots on goal for John Carroll. Additionally, Messiah held an 11-4 lead in shots in the second half.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, Messiah improves to 6-2-2 on the season and will be back in action next Saturday when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves in the MAC Commonwealth opener on Shoemaker Field. The Golden Wolves will come to Grantham on Saturday night with the match slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the women's game. Messiah owns a 15-0-0 all-time record against Alvernia in their previous 15 meetings.