GRANTHAM, Pa. - In the 58th minute of a scoreless game, Brianna Seip picked up an errant pass from the Johns Hopkins goalkeeper and slotted a ball into the back of the net for the lone goal in an important Top-20 showdown on Shoemaker Field for No. 7 Messiah women's soccer. The Seip's first career tally was the deceive goal in a 1-0 victory over the No. 16 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.
 
Messiah moves to 3-0-0 after an impressive victory that saw the Falcons outshot 17-8 in the contest. The Flacons put four shots on frame against six from the Blue Jays. Between the pipes, Lydia Ewing made six saves in the shutout.
 
Things do not get any easier for the Falcons as Messiah will now hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to No. 5 William Smith on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
 
End-to-End Opening Half
The first half of Wednesday's game was and end-to-end battle between two perennial powers. Johns Hopkins had the advantage in shots and territory during a physical 45 minutes, but the Falcons were not without chances. The Blue Jays held an 8-2 advantage in shots before the break, but Messiah held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.
 
Highlighting the opening half for the Falcons were shots from Kayla Herr and Barb Foster in the 26th and 28th minutes that went high.
 
The Falcons' keeper Lydia Ewing made four saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless at the break.
 
Falcons Take Advantage
In the 58th minute, Messiah took advantage of a misplayed ball in the Johns Hopkins defense. The Blue Jays sent a goal kick into the midfield and the Falcons kicked it deep into the left corner. Messiah pressured the ball in the corner and the Johns Hopkins defense sent the ball to the Blue Jays' keeper, who attempted to clear the ball out of danger.
 
The clear was mishit and tricked right to the foot of Brianna Seip. After a centering touch on the left edge of the box, Seip slotted a shot past a sliding keeper and into the back of the net for the first goal of her career.
 
The unassisted tally was one of just four shots on target for the Falcons on the night, a bend but don't break mentality from the Messiah defense allowed the Falcons to hold on for the 1-0 victory.
 
Between the Pipes
In goal for the Falcons, Lydia Ewing made a half dozen saves while picking up her third-straight shutout to begin the 2019 season. While the box score shows six saves for Ewing, the Falcons' keeper had nearly every ball covered all night long. Ewing made a handful of diving saves and was tested by the Blue Jays often throughout the game.
 
After making six saves on Saturday against Stevens, she has made six saves in back-to-back games for the first time in her career.
 
In the Box Score
As mentioned, the Falcons were outshot 17-8 on Wednesday night but only trailed 6-4 in shots on target. Despite the difference in shots, Messiah earned six corners against just one for the Blue Jays.
 
Maddie Kohl was the lone Falcon to register more than one shot, taking three on the night. For Johns Hopkins, Emily Maheras attempted a game-high seven shots, putting two on frame while she played all 90 minutes in the midfield.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah improves to 3-0-0 on the season with three-straight shutouts to begin the year. That record will be put to the test against another top-25 team in No. 5 William Smith on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Saturday's game will be the 12 all-time meeting between Messiah and William Smith. The Falcons are 4-4-3 against the Herons all-time, but William Smith is riding a three-game winning streak in the series.