GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 6 Messiah men's soccer team handed the visiting Alvernia Golden Wolves their first loss of the MAC Commonwealth season on Wednesday evening by a 4-0 final. The Falcons' victory featured four different goal scorers as Trevor Swartz scored before the half and Luke Groothoff, Jonathan Groothoff, and Stefan Leitzel all connected after the break.
 
The Falcons were on the attack for the majority of the night, ripping 30 shots against just four from the Golden Wolves. Messiah put 11 attempts on frame while Alvernia put one on target.
 
The victory moves the Falcons to 10-0-2 on the season and Messiah remains undefeated in the MAC Commonwealth with a 4-0-0 record. Two road tests await the Falcons over the next week with Messiah traveling to Eastern on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Stevenson next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
 
Scoreless Start
For 40 minutes at the start of Wednesday night's game, the Falcons and Golden Wolves were scoreless despite 16 shots from the hosting Falcons. Messiah sent five attempts on frame in the opening stretch, with relentless pressure throughout the first 40 minutes. The Falcons sent shots on frame in the eight, 10th, 15th, 22nd, and 39th minutes with Luke Groothoff leading the charge with three of those five attempts.
 
Free-Kick Score
In the 41st minute, the Falcons connected for their first goal of the contest off a free kick from just outside the box on the right side. Caleb Aldridge curled a delivery to the top of the six for Trevor Swartz. A leaping touch with the left foot Swartz was too quick for the Golden Wolves' keeper and Messiah took a 1-0 lead heading into the half.
 
Second-Half Insurance
After controlling the pace of play in the opening half, Messiah held a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes of play. The halftime break did little to slow down the Falcons as Messiah added to their lead in the 61st minute with Luke Groothoff weaving through traffic at the top of the box and ripping a left-footed strike to the right post for a 2-0 lead. That advantage quickly became 3-0 when Luke's older brother, Jonathan Groothoff connected off a feed from Ben Lefever in the 68th minute.
 
With just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest, Stefan Leitzel kept his goal scoring streak alive with his fifth goal in the last four games off an assist from Darryl Daniels. Leitzle took one touch to control the pass and bent a shot with his right foot inside the post for a 4-0 Messiah lead.
 
This season, Leitzel has attempted 14 shots with five of them finding the back of the net - a 35.7% shooting percentage from the field.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons cruised to the 4-0 victory to improve to 10-0-2 on the season and 4-0-0 in the conference. Messiah will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Eastern to take on the Eagles at 3:00 p.m. The Eagles are coming off of a 2-1 victory over Lebanon Valley on Wednesday and currently hold an 8-3-2 overall record and a 2-2-0 mark in the MAC Commonwealth.