ANNVILLE, Pa. – No. 5 Messiah field hockey earned a victory in its first MAC Commonwealth tilt of the season, topping Lebanon Valley on the road, 4-1, Wednesday night. The Falcons used four different goal scorers to claim the win, as Makayla Malcolm, the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week, notched her team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Messiah outshot the hosts, 15-6, as Catie Brubaker earned her sixth win of the season.

The Falcons snatched an early lead only 1:08 into the game when Ashlyn Smith found the back of the cage from a pass from Jennie Young. The tally put Messiah ahead, 1-0, as Young dished out her team-leading fourth assist of the season. With a one-goal edge, the Falcons doubled its advantage when Malcolm converted an unassisted effort, making the advantage 2-0. Messiah did not surrender a single shot in the opening quarter of play, claiming a 3-0 lead with 2:16 left on the clock when Teagan Murrie added her name to score sheet. Murrie's goal was assisted by Allie Mast, her fifth point of the season.

With a commanding 3-0 lead, the Falcons held Lebanon Valley shotless in the second quarter, entering halftime with their three-goal advantage. At the half, Messiah outshot the Dutchmen, 10-0, earning four penalty corners to the host's zero.

Keera Dupler, making her season debut, started in net for Messiah at the beginning of the second half. Dupler played all thirty minutes of the half, recording four saves in her first appearance of the season. The third quarter was a scoreless period between the two sides as Lebanon Valley applied firm offensive pressure on the Falcons' defense. The defensive play of the day came from freshman midfielder Liz Ong. Ong recorded Messiah's first defensive save fo the season at the 11:29 mark of the third quarter, denying a shot from Lebanon Valley's Danielle Alba.

Entering the final quarter of play with a 3-0 lead, Lebanon Valley got on the board with under twelve minutes to play. The Falcons' advantage was trimmed to a two-goal edge before a tally from Mast, her second goal of the season, restored the three-goal lead (4-1). Leah Bryner earned the assist on the goal, the second assist of the season for the freshman forward. Mast's goal came with just under ten minutes to play as Messiah held Lebanon Valley at bay for the remainder of the game, earning the victory, 4-1.

Winning the conference opener, Messiah improves it overall record to 6-1 (1-0 MAC Commonwealth). This is the third victory of the season in which the Falcons have recorded at least four different goal scorers.

What's Up Next
No. 5 Messiah returns home to take on York College (Pa.) on Saturday, Sept. 25, at 1:00 p.m.