GRANTHAM, Pa. – Matt McDonald found the back of the net twice in the opening half and the Falcons netted tallies from Ben Lefever and Isaac Schmitke in the second half to earn a 4-1 victory over the Lancaster Bible College Chargers on Wednesday night. McDonald scored twice off volleys, with goals in the 19th and 26th minutes leading to a quick brace. After the break, Lefever connected in the 64th minute off a feed from Stefan Leitzel. After the Chargers found the twice, Isaac Schmitke converted a penalty kick to wrap up the scoring in the 88th minute.
 
The Falcons held a 17-4 advantage in shots, putting eight on frame against just two from Lancaster Bible.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 12-0-1 on the season and will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Eastern University for a match with the Eagles at 3:00 p.m.
 
McDonald's Brace
Matt McDonald found the back of the net twice in the opening half with a tally in the 19th off a feed from Ben Lefever and again in the 26th minute off a corner kick from Jarec Morlote. Both McDonald goals came off volleys. On the first, Lefever carried possession into the right corner with two defenders flanking him on either side. After slipping the first, Lefever got around the second, working his way into the box in the process. A hard, low cross to the center of the box. Found McDonald for the hard-hit, one-time finish for a 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
Just seven minutes later, the Falcons earned a corner kick, this time on the other side of the pitch. Jarec Morlote delivered the corner to the right side of the box, where McDonald was able to elude his defender for an unmarked run. His strike got through the traffic in front of the goal and found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead less than half an hour into the match.
 
Second-Half Insurance
The lead stood at 2-0 into the second half when Ben Lefever would tickle the twine from the right side off a feed from Davis Pagett in the 64th minute. The Falcons used a handful of well-connected passes to get the ball to Pagett on the right side, just outside the box. Pagett feed a ball past the Chargers' back line, allowing Lefever to run onto the well-weighted ball for the one-time finish with the right foot for a 3-0 Messiah lead.
 
Lancaster Bible Finds a Moment
In the 84th minute the Chargers would get on the board with an aggressive ball forward. Messiah was unable to clear the ball out of the box with two Chargers and a pair of Falcons in the area. After an initial shot was blocked, Dan Marcroft was able to slot a shot through the traffic and into the back of the net. The tally pulled the Chargers within two at 3-1, but Messiah would respond.
 
Falcons End on Top
In the 88th minute, the Falcons would net a penalty kick goal off the foot of Isaac Schmitke. Harrison Keator was taken down in the box after a quick pass from Luke Foster got him in on goal. A defender came from behind to take Keator down on the left-side of the box, resulting in a penalty kick that Schmitke deftly knocked home for the final blow in a 4-1 Messiah victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will head to St. Davids, Pa. on Friday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. match against the Easter Eagles. The match will begin a stretch of five-straight conference matches to close out the regular season.