READING, Pa. – The No. 7 Messiah field hockey team won a dramatic away competition at Alvernia University on Saturday afternoon, topping the Golden Wolves, 2-1. The Falcons trailed 1-0 with under 10 minutes to play, but Makayla Malcolm notched two tallies to propel Messiah to victory, the game-winning goal occurring with under five minutes remaining in the contest.
 
Malcolm, who leads the Falcons in goals, ups her season total to nine. Jennie Young provided the assist on the game-tying goal, as goalkeeper Catie Brubaker recorded five saves to earn her ninth win of the season.
 
The opening quarter of play was a scoreless affair between the two sides. The Falcons and Golden Wolves each fired off two shots in the quarter. The play of the half belonged to Isabel Villegas, who recorded her second defensive save in as many games, denying Maria Panettieri with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Alvernia struck in the second quarter, earning a 1-0 advantage just 43 seconds into the period when Hailey Miller snuck a shot past Brubaker. The Golden Wolves' defense played well in the second period of play, not allowing the Falcons to record a single shot. Despite earning four penalty corners to the Golden Wolves' two penalty corners, Messiah trailed heading into the break, 1-0.
 
The Golden Wolves got out to a fast start offensively in the second half, applying pressure on the Falcons' defense with three-consecutive penalty corner opportunities in the opening two minutes of action. The Messiah defense held firm, leading to three Falcon penalty corners within two minutes of gameplay. The Falcons failed to score on the penalty corners despite a Leah Bryner attempt at goal that went wide. Ashlyn Smith recorded a shot on goal with 7:12 remaining in the period, but Alvernia goalkeeper Hannah Wolfe matched the effort with a save. The remainder of the quarter proved to be scoreless as the Falcons entered the final period of play with their backs against the wall, trailing, 1-0.
 
Messiah pressed on in the early portions of the fourth quarter, recording two shots in the opening five minutes, a shot from Smith that was blocked and an effort from Young that went wide. With 6:07 remaining on the clock, the Falcons equalized. Malcolm received a pass from Young and found the back of the cage, leveling the score at 1-1. Messiah proceeded to ride the momentum from the game-tying tally to add another score with just 4:12 remaining, Malcolm's second goal of the game. The goal-scoring opportunity arose when Wolfe mishit the ball on an attempted clearance, as Malcolm pounced on the opportunity to score the game-winning goal. The Falcons held on to win the contest, 2-1.
 
Young, providing the assist on the game-tying tally, now leads the MAC Commonwealth in assists (6).
 
The victory improves Messiah's overall record 9-2 on the season, extending its unbeaten conference record to 4-0.
 
What's Next Up
The Falcons will be back in action again on Wednesday, Oct. 13, when they travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers at 4:00 p.m.