GRANTHAM, Pa. - After a scoreless opening half, No. 4 Messiah men's soccer exploded for six goals in the second half to propel the Falcons past the visiting Widener Pride on Saturday evening. Messiah netted four goals on their own with Trevor Goodling, Darryl Daniels, Josh Bratager, and Reid Ruark scoring for the Falcons. Widener helped the Falcons' cause with a pair of own goals in the 48th and 77th minutes.
 
Despite the match not seeing a score in the first 45 minutes, Messiah was on the front foot throughout the majority of the opening half. The Falcons attempted eight shots to just one from the Pride. In their six-goal second-half, Messiah took 10 shots while holding Widener without an attempt.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 13-0-2 and remains perfect in the conference with a 7-0-0 record. As a result, Messiah has locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament that will take place during the first week of November.
 
Calm Before the Storm
Messiah controlled the opening half, holding an 8-1 lead in shots, but was unable to find the back of the net. Messiah and Widener went to the break scoreless, despite the Falcons putting four shots on goal.
 
Jared Pavlovich made one save in the 26th minute to keep the clean sheet for the Falcons.
 
Own Goal Breaks the Ice
Just minutes after the half, Messiah got on the board in the 48th minute. Jonathan Groothoff sent a cross into the box from the left side, looking for Matt McDonald on the back post. The feed never made its way to McDonald as a Widener defender got in the way and pounded the delivery into the back of his own net, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
 
Scoring in Bunches
While the own goal got the Falcons on the board, the barrage of goals did not start until Trevor Goodling unleashed a left-footed strike from distance in the 66th minute. Trevor Swartz fed a cutting Goodling from the right side. With a defender on his back, Goodling created just enough space and ripped a strike from just outside the top of the box. His strike nicked the underside of the crossbar and ended in the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
 
Goodling's goal started an avalanche of offense over the next 23 minutes that resulted in a 6-0 victory for the Falcons. Darryl Daniels laid out for a diving header off a feed from Dylan Englehart in the 69th minute for his first goal of the season.
 
In the 76th minute, the Falcons scored off a corner kick. Englehart sent the delivery into the back of the box for Trevor Swartz, who headed the delivery toward the goal for Josh Bratager. A little flick on from Bratager gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead.
 
Just a minute after Bratager's tally, Stefan Leitzel sent a square ball in front of the goal for Dylan Englehart. Once again, the Widener defense beat the Falcons to a cross, but once again the deflection ended up in the back of the goal. The second own goal of the night gave Messiah a 5-0 lead.
 
Reid Ruak capped off the evening with a right-footed strike in the 89th minute that curled around a diving keeper and inside the right post for a 6-0 victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah clinches the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament thanks to their 7-0-0 mark in the conference thus far. The Falcons improve to 13-0-2 overall this season and will be back in action when they host the Hood Blazers on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.