GRANTHAM, Pa. - Playing in front of a standing room only crowd at Shoemaker Field, the No. 7 Messiah men's soccer team went down 1-0 in the first 10 minutes of play with the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen. The Falcons offense proceeded to score three times in a 14-minute stretch in the middle of the second half en route to a 4-1 victory over the Dutchmen on Homecoming in Grantham. Stefan Leitzel led the Falcons with two goals while Trevor Goodling and Jake Lent-Koop each netted one in the victory.
 
Messiah's pressure was relentless from the opening touch and the Falcons won the territory battle throughout the contest. Messiah attempted 14 shots in each half for a total of 28 against just eight for Lebanon Valley.
 
With the Homecoming victory, Messiah improves to 9-0-2 on the season and 3-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when the welcome the Alvernia Golden Wolves to Shoemaker Field at 7:00 p.m.
 
Against the Run, Dutchmen Strike First
Messiah jumped all over the Dutchmen in the opening minutes of play on Saturday. The Falcons recorded shots in the third, fourth, and eighth minutes, forcing a pair of saves, but it was the Dutchmen that were the first on the board. In the 10th minute, Lebanon Valley pushed ahead down the left side with Zach Reed finding Aaron Weitzel for a one-time strike from outside the box to the right-side netting for a 1-0 lead.
 
Three-Goal Stretch
After a bid to double the lead just 40 seconds later was saved by Messiah's Jared Pavlovich, Messiah was back in command. The Falcons dictated the pace of play for the remainder of the game, attempting a pair of blocked shots in the 12th minute and forcing another save in the 14th minute.
 
Messiah would find the equalizer in the 24th minute off the head of Trevor Goodling. Jarec Morlote held possession on the end line and sent a cross toward the back post for Trevor Goodling. His service was just high enough to miss the head of the Dutchmen defender and find Goodling for the match-tying score.
 
That was just the start for the Falcons. Four minutes later, Messiah was at it again. In the 28th minute, Grant Johnson found the foot of Luke Brautigam on the back post off of a corner kick. Brautigam touched the delivery to Jake Lent-Koop in the middle of the box. From point blank range, Lent-Koop scored to make it a 2-1 lead. The tally was his third of the season.
 
In the 34th minute, Luke Groothoff nearly made it 3-1 after his attempted riccochaed off the crossbar, but the Falcons did not have to wait long for their third goal. In the 38th minute, Messiah took advantage of a corner kick with Caleb Aldridge finding the head of Stefan Leitzel for the 3-1 lead as the game turned to the break.
 
A Little Insurance
Just as they did throughout the first half, Messiah controlled possession after the break. Messiah had multiple chances, putting seven shots on goal in the period. In the 74th minute, it was Stephen Leitzel finding his second goal of the night and fourth in the last three games. After Lucas Kokolios carried possession through the Dutchmen defense, he slipped a ball to Leitzel. With traffic around him, Leitzel was able to beat the keeper for a bit of insurance for the Falcons with a 4-1 lead.
 
Messiah had a handful of looks down the stretch and earned the 4-1 victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, Messiah moves to 9-0-2 on the season and remains perfect in the MAC Commonwealth with a 3-0-0 record. The Falcons will now turn their attention to the Alvernia on Wednesday when the Golden Wolves travel to Grantham at 7:00 p.m. Alvernia is the only other 3-0-0 team in the MAC Commonwealth, after this weekend of action.