SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 9 Messiah men's soccer team broke open a scoreless game with three goals in a three-minute stretch late in the second half against the Salisbury Sea Gulls en route to a 4-0 victory on the road. Messiah and Salisbury were scoreless through the first 75 minutes of Saturday's contest, but a hand ball in the box gave the Falcons a penalty kick that opened the floodgates.
 
Reid Ruark netted the penalty kick in the 76th minute and tallies by Dylan Englehart and Luke Groothoff followed in the 78th and 79th minutes, respectively. Cole Cristian assisted on both the Englehart and Groothoff scores before Matt McDonald capped off the victory with a score in the 86th minute.
 
Messiah won the territory battle throughout the contest, attempting 19 shots against just two from Salisbury.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 4-0-1 on the season and will be in action on Wednesday night when they host the Elizabethtown Blue Jays on Shoemaker Field at 7:00 p.m.
 
On the Front Foot
The Falcons and Sea Gulls played a scoreless opening half, but the Falcons consistently had the better chances through the start of the contest. Messiah held an 8-1 advantage in shots through the first 45 minutes, putting two on target. Cole Cristian accounted for both shots on frame in the first half with attempts in the 26th and 31st minutes. Both were turned aside by the Salisbury keeper, Gabe Dunn.
 
The beginning of the second half featured a relentless Falcons' attack that was on the front foot. Messiah won the territory battle throughout the beginning of the period, but was unable to break the scoreless game open for the first 30 minutes of the half.
 
Floodgates Open
In the 76th minute, the Falcons were awarded a penalty kick after a Dylan Englehart got into the box with a well-weighted pass from Matt McDonald. Englehart was one-on-one with the defender, but when the defender went down for a tackle the ball hit off his arm and a penalty kick was awarded. Reid Ruark stepped up and deftly netted the penalty to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead with less than 15 minutes left to play.
 
While the first goal was all the Falcons would need, Messiah added some insurance with two more scores in the following minutes. In the 78th minute, Cole Cristian slipped a ball to Dylan Englehart on the left side of the box for a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. Englehart connected for his first career goal, beating the keeper to the near post and bumping the Falcons' lead to 2-0 in the process.
 
Just over a minute later, Cristian was assisting another tally for the Falcons. Off a run down the right side, Cristian sent a ball forward to Luke Groothoff on the right-sdie of the box. Groothoff didn't even take a controlling touch, but slid into the pass finding the back of the net and giving the Falcons a 3-0 lead.
 
Messiah added one final tally in the 86th minute. Trevor Swartz won possession for the Falcons right around the midfield stripe and carried the ball forward. At the same time, Matt McDonald made a run down the right side. Swartz slipped a pass through the Sea Gulls' back line to McDonald, who netted the fourth, and final, goal of the day for the Falcons.
 
What's Up Next
With the 4-0 victory, Messiah moves to 4-0-1 on the season. The Falcons will host long-time rival, Elizabethtown on Shoemaker Field for the first time since 2016 when the Blue Jays come to Grantham on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons have dominated the recent history of the rivalry with 11 wins in the last 12 meetings and hold an overall record of 36-18-2 against Elizabethtown.