GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 2 Messiah men's soccer team scored twice in each half in their MAC Commonwealth opener on Wednesday night to earn a 4-0 victory over the Stevenson Mustangs on Shoemaker Field. Four different Falcons found the back of the net with Grant Johnson and Patrick Lee scoring before the half while Cole Cristian and Davis Pagett converted after the break.
 
Messiah held a commanding advantage in total shots in the match, taking 23 against just one from the Mustangs. Ten of Messiah's 23 attempts went on frame with a handful of others just missing high or wide.
 
With the shutout victory, Messiah improves to 10-0-1 overall this season and starts the conference slate with a 1-0-0 record.
 
Messiah will be back in action on Saturday night when they travel to Alvernia to take on the Golden Wolves at 7:00 p.m.
 
A Pair in the First
Messiah struck first in the 19th minute off the right foot of Grant Johnson. From well outside the box, Johnson collected possession and pushed into the open space that the Mustangs were giving him. Johnson then ripped a shot that rattled off the underside of the crossbar and just over the goal line for the first of four Messiah tallies on the evening.
 
Later in the half, Messiah doubled their lead with a header goal from Patrick Lee. Off a corner kick from Caleb Aldridge, Stephan Leitzel knocked a header off the middle of the crossbar. After it went into a scramble in front of the goal mouth, Patrick Lee was able to get a head of the ball. His header had just enough pace for the ball to get into the back of the net for a 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
Two More in the Second
The 2-0 lead would hold into the second half. Seven minutes after the break, Cole Cristian converted a popped up pass from Trevor Swartz for the third goal of the evening. The possession was loose in the box and Swartz beat a defender to the ball on the left side of the goal. His feed popped over to Cristian at the six. From there, Cristian just had to head the ball into the back of an open net for a 3-0 Messiah advantage.
 
Messiah capped off their evening of scoring with a fourth and final tally in the 70th minute. Matt McDonald slotted a ball back to the box for Patrick Lee from the left side. Lee was able to step on the feed and slip it over to Davis Pagett on the right side. Pagett did not even need a touch, ripping a one timer inside the left post for his second career score.
 
The Falcons held the Mustangs to just one shot in the contest. That attempt was saved in the 62nd minute by Jared Pavlovich.
 
What's Up Next
With the 4-0 victory, Messiah moves to 10-0-1 on the season and will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Reading, Pa. to take on the Alvernia Golden Wolves at 7:00 p.m. in another MAC Commonwealth match.