GRANTHAM, Pa. – Hannah Adair netted a brace with a goal in each half as the No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team earned a 5-0 victory over the Hood Blazers on Tuesday night. In addition to Adair's brace, Tahlia Lloyd, Kierstyn Fogle, and Molly Adams scored in the Falcons' ninth shutout victory of the season. The Falcons controlled possession, holding a 31-1 advantage in shots on the evening.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 12-2-0 on the season and 4-0-0 in the conference. The Falcons will be back in action n Saturday when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves at 5:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons had a number of quality looks in the opening minutes, but it was not until the 24th minute that Messiah dented the scoreboard. Just outside the box, Brittany Laird slipped a through ball on the ground to the foot of a streaking Hannah Adair. From the right side of the box, Adair hit her shot on the first touch, chipping the keeper and give Messiah a 1-0 lead.
 
For the next 18 minutes, that's where the lead would stay, but in the 42nd minute Messiah would earn a corner kick. Olivia Shuck delivered a quality, in-swinging corner toward the far post that bounced, untouched initially in the middle of the box. Tahlia Lloyd was right on the back post for the bouncing ball, knocking it home from point-blank range for a 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
After 45 minutes of play, Messiah held a 2-0 lead while controlling possession and the match with a 13-1 advantage in shots.
 
Just 10 minutes into the second half, the Falcons added some insurance with Hannah Adair finding her second goal of the match. In the 55th minute, Bella Touzeau sent a beautiful ball forward to Adair that sprung her loose down the left side and in on the keeper. Adair deftly finished her chance, slotting a low shot past the oncoming keeper for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Messiah cushion extend to 4-0 just 10 minutes later with Kierstyn Fogle being on the receiving end of some nifty Messiah passing. Bella Touzeau carried possession on the left side, finding Lydia Ring on the back post with a centering pass. Ring's touch went right to Fogle in the middle of an unattended goalmouth for the tap-in tally. Ring has now scored in three-straight matches.
 
In the 77th minute, Molly Adams connected on her first career goal, scoring after a defensive misplay put the ball on her foot on the goal line. Ava Buckwalter took an initial shot that was blocked in the box. The rebound was unable to be cleared by the defender and Adams cleaned up the loose ball, pushing the Falcons' lead to 5-0.
 
In the end, Messiah outshot the Blazers 31-1, putting 16 attempts on frame against just one from Hood. Ava Wert and Raegan Salamone split the shutout with Wert recording one save.
 
What's Up Next
With the shutout victory, Messiah improves to 12-2-0 on the season and 4-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday against Alvernia University at 5:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.