GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's soccer team earned a 2-1 victory over the Kenyon Lords on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament next weekend. The Lords had the better run of play throughout large stretches of the match. Messiah connected on a penalty kick in the 17th minute off the foot of Lucas Kokolios and then finished off a counter attack tally in the 84th minute with Ben Lefever scoring the game-winner.
 
In between those two tallies, the Lords netted the equalizer in the 66th minute from Gerardo Martinez. In the game, Messiah attempted just seven shots with two of those attempts going on frame. Both shots on target found the back of the net. Kenyon peppered Jared Pavlovich with 18 total shots, putting eight on frame and hitting the post at least once in the final five seconds of the match.
 
Despite the tale of the tape favoring the Lords, it was Messiah that escaped with a victory and punched their ticket to the next round of the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons will take on the Hanover Panthers in the Sweet 16 next weekend at a time and location to be determined.
 
Penalty Kick Puts Falcons In Front
Right from the opening whistle, this one looked to be a battle between two quality sides. The Lords had the first chances of the game, putting three shots on target in the third, fifth, and eighth minutes. Despite the heavy pressure early, Jared Pavlovich earned three saves to keep the Lords at bay. In the 17th minute, Messiah had carried possession into the box and with some physical play gotten possession over to Trevor Goodling on the right side of the box.
 
Goodling was draped with a Lords' defender, who pulled him to the ground. The foul occurred in the box and Messiah was awarded a penalty kick. Lucas Kokolios deftly knocked the penalty kick into the back of the net, beating the Lords' keeper who guessed correctly, but was unable to reach Kokolios' shot.
 
Kokolios' second goal of the season, put the home team in front 1-0.
 
Holding Possession
Following the game's initial score, Messiah controlled much of the possession for the remainder of the half. Despite playing the bulk of the next 30 minutes in the Lords' half, Messiah was unable to generate many chances. The Falcons took just one shot in the remainder of the half.
 
Lords on the Front Foot
With Messiah holding a 1-0 lead through halftime, the Lords turned up the pressure playing more direct balls over Messiah's tough midfield and holding possession in the Falcons' end for a majority of the half. Messiah held the Lords off the scoreboard for the first 20 minutes of the period, but Gerardo Martinez leveled the game in the 66th minute. Martinez had his initial shot blocked, but the rebound came right back to him in the box and he connected on the equalizer to level the game 1-1.
 
After the Kenyon score, the Lords kept coming. A half dozen shots followed over the next 16 minutes with Jared Pavlovich forced to make a tremendous diving save to his left in the 83rd minute to keep the game tied.
 
Lefever Nets Game Winner
Just a minute after Pavlovich's diving save, Messiah cashed in against the run of play. The Falcons got the ball forward to Matt McDonald on a counter down the left side. McDonald pushed his way forward before flicking a pass to Ben Lefever, who ended up connecting on the game-winner inside the left post. It was just Messiah's second shot on goal.
 
The final minute of play was a frantic one with Kenyon earning a corner and sending the ball into the box on multiple occasions. Sebastian Gaese had a turnaround shot in the finals second rattled off the left post, but Messiah was able to escape with the 2-1 victory and head into the Sweet 16 next weekend.
 
Moving On
With the victory, Messiah advances into the Sweet 16 for the 24th time in program history. The Falcons will take on the Hanover College Panthers at a time and place to be determined. Messiah and Hanover have never met in men's soccer before.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com throughout the week for information on next weekend's action.