CORTLAND, N.Y. – The No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team earned a 3-0 victory over the Penn State – Berks Nittany Lions in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament to punch their ticket to Sunday's Second Round against the winner of SUNY Cortland and Wesleyan. Messiah scored three goals in the second half with Brianna Seip, Rachael Tirjan, and Kylie Firestone finding the back of the net for the Falcons.
 
Messiah outshot the Nittany Lions 23-2 in the match and will be back in action tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in Cortland, N.Y. against the Wesleyan Cardinals, who advanced through the First Round via penalty kicks on Saturday afternoon.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons and Nittany Lions played a scoreless opening half, but it was the Falcons that were on the front foot throughout the period. Messiah outshot the Nittany Lions 12-1 across the first 45 minutes, sending four shots on target. Additionally, Messiah hit the post on at least two occasions, but were unable to find the back of the net.
 
After the half, Messiah was a little more accurate, putting eight of their 11 shots on target. Three of those attempts found the back of the net with Brianna seip getting the scoring going in the 52nd minute. Rachael Tirjan slipped a ball into a streaking Seip on the left side. Seip's attempt rattled off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net for a 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
The Falcons doubled that lead just five minutes later when Kezie Spodnik found Tirjan for the score. Spodnik sent a ball into the middle of the box that found the foot of Tirjan. Messiah's leading scorer did the rest, netting her 12th goal of the season and giving Messiah a 2-0 lead.
 
In the 67th minute, Messiah added a third and final score when Hannah Adair sent a through ball deep into the box for Kylie Firestone. Firestone slipped a shot inside the right post to give Messiah a 3-0 lead. The score was Firestone's 10th of the season.
 
In total, the Falcons outshot the Nittany Lions 23-1, putting 12 shots on target against one from Penn State Berks.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah advances to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday against the Weslean Cardinals who advanced through the First Round on penalty kicks against the host SUNY Cortland Red Dragons. The Cardinals and Red Dragons tied 1-1, but Wesleyan outshot SUNY Cortland 21-10 in the match.
 
Messiah and Weselyan will square off at 1:00 p.m. with a trip to next weekend's Sweet 16 on the line. The Falcons and Cardinals have never played in women's soccer before.