GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 2 Messiah women's soccer got back in the win column with a dominating 6-0 victory over the visiting Eastern University Eagles on Saturday evening. The Falcons netted a pair of tallies in the first half, before scoring four times after the break. Korinne Kovatch led the offense with a pair of goals, scoring the first and fifth tallies of the evening. Kayla Herr, Kristina Akselsen, Brianna Seip, and Rebecca Ritchie accounted for the other four scores.
 
Messiah did not allow a shot in the contest. In total, the Falcons outshot Eastern 36-0.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 11-1-2 overall and 3-1-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers at 7:00 p.m.
 
Two Early Tallies
Korinne Kovatch got the Falcons on the board in the 24th minute, cleaning up a feed from Rachael Tirjan that a defender was unable to clear out of the box. Tirjan sent a cross into the box from the right and a defender got a foot on the feed, but the ball went right to Kovatch at the top of the six. The finish from Kovatch gave Messiah a 1-0 lead.
 
In the 39th minute, Bella Touzeau hit a dangerous volley off of a corner kick, putting it on frame. Her shot was saved, but the rebounds went right to Kayla Herr on the right side of the box for a 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
Messiah would take that 2-0 lead into the half, leading in shots 18-0 through 45 minutes.
 
Breaking Things Open
Messiah quickly broke things open in the second half with Kristina Akselsen and Brianna Seip scoring in the first 11 minutes of the period. Rachael Tirjan earned another assist, by carrying possession down the left side and slipping a pass to Akselsen for the tally in the 53rd minute.
 
In the 56th minute, Kylie Firestone got a pass to the foot of Brianna Seip for the 4-0 Messiah lead.
 
Messiah continued to pressure the Eagles' defense with Thea Neimond finding Korinne Kovatch from the left-side for a one-touch goal in the 67th minute. The tally was Kovatch's second of the contest and fourth of the season. The multi-goal game is the second of Kovatch's career. With the first coming in the 2019 MAC Commonwealth Championship Game against Arcadia.
 
Rebecca Ritchie connected on the final goal of the match, scoring in the 73rd minute off an assist from Ella Arace. The tally was Ritchie's first goal since Nov. 11, 2019 against Randolph-Macon in the NCAA Tournament after missing the 2021 season due to injury.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves to 11-1-2 on the season and 3-1-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.