GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team netted a pair of second-half tallies from Shelby Burger and Rachael Tirjan in the 75th and 77th minutes to give the Falcons a 2-0 victory over the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors on Tuesday night. The Falcons pressured the Scarlet Raptors for the vast majority of the contest, but it took 75 minutes to break through.
 
On the night, Messiah outshot Rutgers-Camden 14-2, including a 3-0 advantage in the first half and an 11-2 edge in the second-half.
 
The victory moves the Falcons to 4-1-1 overall on the season. Messiah will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Misericordia Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
 
Scoreless Start
Entering the contest, the Falcons looked to improve its home record to 2-0 on the season. The opening ten minutes of play featured opportunities for both sides. The Scarlet Raptors had the first corner kick of the game just six minutes in, resulting in a one-time shot at the top of the 18-yard box. The effort on-goal was slowed down by heavy traffic in the penalty box, proving to be easy pickings for Courtney Dunlop. The Falcons countered, earning a chance of their own, resulting in a shot that was high and wide from Emma Herrmann.
 
Rutgers-Camden defended well throughout the first half. The Falcons had periods of quality interplay, connecting on numerous consecutive passes, but the Scarlet Raptor's firm defense denied the creation of any close chances. Messiah's best chance of the half came with nine minutes left in the period, when a cross found Brianna Seip's feet, but the junior forward slightly mistimed the shot, giving the visiting goalkeeper a chance to sprawl out on the goal line and make a clean save.
 
The halftime whistle came with the two sides level, 0-0. Overall, Messiah had more offensive opportunities than its visitors, outshooting the Scarlet Raptors on the half, 3-0.
 
The opening five minutes of play in the second half was end-to-end action. The Falcons had an opportunistic chance on net, but came up empty-handed when Rachael Tirjan ripped a shot wide of the frame just three minutes into the period. At the twelve-minute mark of the half, Messiah had another quality opportunity. Shelby Burger made a darting run down the sideline and found herself in on goal when a long ball from the midfield found her feet. Burger's angle towards net was tight, and with strong defense jostling for the ball, her shot sailed over the crossbar.
 
The more the clock continued to dwindle, with the score still level at 0-0, the more the Falcons began to control the game. Messiah enjoyed long spells of possession, working the ball around the 18-yard box, searching relentlessly for openings.
 
Falcons Break Through
With 16 minutes remaining, Messiah finally broke through. A free kick from 20 yards out found the back of the net when Burger stepped up and curled a left-footed shot just under the crossbar to give the Falcons a 1-0 edge. Seip was credited with the assist and she rolled the ball forward Burger off the free kick, setting up the strike that opened the floodgates.
 
Not even a minute later, Messiah doubled its advantage when a cross found Tirjan, who tapped the ball over the goalkeeper's head. Tirjan's team-leading sixth goal of the season gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead, further putting the Scarlet Raptors out of the contest
 
The two tallies proved to be enough for the Falcons as they held on for the victory, 2-0. Burger notched her  
 
What's Up Next
Messiah moves to 4-1-1 on the season and will return to the pitch this Saturday, Sept. 25, when it hosts No. 12 Misericordia University on Shoemaker Field at 7:00 p.m.