GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 10 Messiah women's soccer team scored twice in the opening half and three times in the second half to earn a 5-0 victory over the Widener Pride on Saturday night. With the victory, Messiah locks up the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament, by virtue of their undefeated, 7-0-0 record in the conference thus far. Brianna Seip led the Falcons scoring effort on the evening with a pair of goals while Esther Seeland, Korinne Kovatch, and Bella Touzeau added scores of their own.

Seeland got things started in the 11th minute, skying for a header off of a corner to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Kovatch then netted her score just seconds before the half. After Brianna Seip scored back-to-back goals in the 60th and 68th minutes, Touzeau scored the first goal of her career in the 83rd minute to give the Falcons the 5-0 victory.

With her thunderous header, Seeland notched her third goal of the season. Kenzie Spodnik earned the assist on the first goal, her second assist of the season. The Falcons dominated for much of the first half, outshooting the Pride, 11-1. Messiah goalkeeper Lydia Watkins earned a save in the first half, but thanks to the strong Falcon defense that limited their opposition to just one shot, the goalkeeper was not worked too hard throughout the evening.
 
Kovatch's tally, a right-footed curler with just ten seconds remaining in the half, doubled Messiah's advantage to 2-0. The goal was the junior midfielder's first of the season as the Falcons entered the break with a firm two-goal edge.
 
Seip was the star of the second half, scoring a pair of goals in the 60th and 68th minutes to further build upon the Falcons' lead. Kylie Firestone assisted Seip's first tally as Jessie Fisher recorded her first assist of the season on the junior forward's second tally of the night. Seip now has six goals on the season, the second-highest mark behind Rachel Tirjan (7). With a 4-0 lead, Touzeau added an insurance goal to increase the lead to a five-goal edge. Touzeau's goal, the first goal of her Falcon career, was assisted by Kovatch. The Falcons held on for the victory, topping Widener, 5-0.
 
Utilizing four different goal scorers, the Falcons jumped out to a fast start and did not let up for the entirety of the evening. Goalkeeper Courtney Dunlop played all 45 minutes of the second half, making one save, as Messiah outshot the Pride in the half 10-1.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 12-2-1 overall along with their perfect 7-0-0 conference record.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the Hood Blazers at 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.