HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The No. 7 Messiah field hockey team had plenty of offensive momentum in an 8-0 road victory over Juniata College on Wednesday night. The Falcons used five different goal scorers to claim the victory, including a game-high four tallies from Makayla Malcolm. Malcolm's four goals all came in the first half as Messiah outshot the Eagles, 22-0.
 
The victory improves the Falcons' record to 4-1 on the season and represents a strong response after narrowly dropping their first game of the season last Saturday.
 
Messiah did not wait long to jump out to a 1-0 advantage over the hosts. Just 1:26 into the game, Ashlyn Smith linked up with Malcolm to notch the contest's first goal of the game. Malcolm's tally was her second of the season, putting Messiah ahead by one in the early going. The Falcons' defense held the Eagles scoreless in the opening minutes of play before Malcolm added her second goal of the game at the 9:14 mark, doubling Messiah's first quarter edge.
 
The opening quarter of play proved to be an offensive outburst as the Falcons tacked on one more score to extend their lead, 3-0, heading into the second quarter. Teagan Murrie provided the third tally, assisted by Nicole Shank. Murrie's goal was her third of the season as Shank fished out her first assist of the season.
 
Malcolm continued her strong offensive night, completing her hat trick just 1:53 into the second quarter. Her second unassisted goal of the night gave Messiah a commanding 4-0 lead with nearly a whole quarter to play until the halfway mark. Despite completing the hat trick, the scoring did not halt. Malcolm added a fourth goal at the 8:14 mark as Madi Johnson got herself on the scoresheet, scoring Messiah's sixth goal with 4:33 remaining in the half. Outshooting the Eagles 15-0, the Falcons entered halftime with a firm advantage, 6-0.
 
With a comfortable advantage heading into the second half, Messiah tacked on two more goals in the first eight minutes of the third quarter to extend the lead to 7-0. Megan North and Lindsay McFeaters each contributed a goal as McFeaters assisted North's tally. The remainder of the period remained scoreless as Messiah held on to an 8-0 lead going into the final quarter of play.
 
In the opening five minutes of play in the fourth quarter, Messiah nearly snagged a ninth goal. Katie Dickow had a quality goal-scoring chance that was denied by a phenomenal defensive save from Juniata's Sarah Bryer. Despite a shot on goal from Murrie with five minutes to play, the fourth quarter was relatively tame as the Falcons held on to defeat the Eagles, 8-0.
 
Malcolm, who had a career night, scored her four goals in just five shot attempts. Messiah's defense played exceptionally well, not allowing a single shot, as goalkeeper Jaden Keister made her Falcon debut in the second half. North and Murrie each recorded their third goals of the season, with Johnson scoring her first tally of the season.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah (4-1) returns to Anderson Field on Saturday, Sept. 18, hosting No.4 The College of New Jersey for another matchup with a top-ten opponent. The game is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.