GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 4 Messiah men's soccer team once again used a fast start to cruise past their competition. On Saturday night, it was a five-goal first half that gave the Falcons a 5-0 lead at the break as they eventually earned a 5-1 victory over the visiting Salisbury Sea Gulls. Five different Falcons connected in the match with Ben Lefever, Jake Lent-Koop, Matt McDonald, Luke Brautigam, and Zackary Venus each collecting tallies on the evening.

With McDonald's tally in the 17th minute, the senior forward has scored in all six games this season for the Falcons. McDonald leads Messiah with eight goals on the season.

With the victory, Messiah moves to 5-0-1 on the season and will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Elizabethtown at 7:00 p.m. against their rival to the east.

Fast Five
Messiah nearly dented the scoreboard in the opening minutes, but three Falcons' shots were saved. Matt McDonald had the first look in the third minute, followed by attempts from Trevor Swartz in the sixth and eighth minutes.
 
The Falcons broke through in the 11th minute when Cole Cristian collected a loose ball on the left side and broke to the endline. He fed Ben Lefever in the middle of the box. Lefever started with his back to the goal, but quickly spun and ripped a shot into the back of the goal.
 
The Messiah lead remained 1-0 for all of five minutes before Jake Lent-Koop cashed in another pass from Cole Cristian. After the Sea Gulls attempted to clear a corner, Cristian was there to loft a secondary delivery into the box when Lent-Koop's head redirected the delivery into the net for a 2-0 Messiah lead in the 16th minute.
 
Just over a minute later, Ben Vollmer sent a long through ball for Matt McDonald on the right side. McDonald ran onto the pass and deftly slotted the shot past the keeper who remained on his line a little too long. With the tally, McDonald notched his team-leading eighth goal of the season. He has scored in all six of Messiah's contests this season.
 
In the 22nd minute, Luke Brautigam made it a 4-0 Messiah lead. Brautigam held the ball at the top of the box and after some fancy footwork ripped a left footed strike to the right post for the Falcons' fourth goal of the evening.
 
Messiah had other looks over the next 15 minutes, but it was Zackary Venus in the 39th minute finding the next scoring moment for the Falcons. Patrick Lee worked his way to the endline on the right side and slipped a ball to the top of the box. The feed found Venus and his initial touch got him around a defender for a look at goal. The senior made good on the chance and connected for a 5-0 Messiah lead.
 
Salisbury Connects Against the Run of Play
Messiah controlled possession once again in the second half, hold an 11-6 advantage in shots, but it was the Sea Gulls that found the scoreboard. In the 87th minute, Ethan Dolezal slotted a rebound into the back of the net to spoil the clean sheet for the Falcons.
 
Despite the late goal, Messiah earned the 5-1 victory to improve to 5-0-1 on the season.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action for their annual rivalry game with the Elizabethtown Blue Jays. Messiah will travel to Elizabethtown on Wednesday for the contest at 7:00 p.m.