GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team flexed their muscle in an 8-0 victory over the Alvernia Golden Wolves on Saturday evening. The Falcons built a 7-0 advantage by halftime before Bailie Dull netted her first career goal in the second half.
 
In the opening half, Brittany Laird scored twice in a two-minute span as six different Falcons found the back of the net. Hannah Adair opened the scoring in the eighth minute with Julia Martin, Olivia Shuck, Molly Adams, and Kierstyn Fogle also scoring.
 
Messiah held a 25-0 advantage in shots, putting 15 attempts on frame.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 13-2-0 on the season and remains undefeated in conference play with a 5-0-0 MAC Commonwealth record. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Stevenson for a 7:00 p.m. match.
 
Offensive Outburst
The only thing that slowed down the Falcons in the opening half was the offsides flag. The Falcons netted seven goals in the opening 45 minutes and that number could have approached double digits if not for five offsides infractions that halted scoring opportunities.
 
The Falcons wasted little time getting on the board with a pair of goals in the opening 10 minutes. Hannah Adair was first on the board in the eighth minute. Adair received a through ball from Brittany Laird and deked out a defender before placing a shot inside the left post for the 1-0 lead.
 
Less than two and a half minutes later, Julia Martin made it a 2-0 Messiah lead. Martin beat her defender down the right side and cut in toward the goal. With a one-on-one chance with the keeper, Martin aimed a shot to the far, left post, rattling it off the post and in for the second goal of the afternoon.
 
Next it was Brittany Laird's turn. The first year scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season in a 1:13 span between the 19th and 21st minutes. Laird's first goal was off a chipped feed from Tahlia Lloyd over the Alvernia defense. Laird ran onto it and slotted her shot inside the left post. Just over a minute later, Messiah earned a corner kick on the left side. Bella Touzeau sent the delivery to the penalty spot in the middle of the box. Julia Martin got a head on it and steered it to a waiting Laird on the left post. Laird brought the header down and hammered home her second score of the afternoon, giving Messiah a 4-0 lead in the process.
 
In the 32ns minute, Mia Libby was taken down on the right side of the box and earned a penalty kick for the Falcons. Olivia Shuck stepped to the spot and knocked home the Falcons' fifth goal of the day, converting the penalty kick for her second goal of the season.
 
The Falcons would add back-to-back goals before the end of the half from Molly Adams and Kierstyn Fogle in the 41st and 42nd minutes. Adams ran onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Ava Buckwalter and hit a one-time shot to the left post for her second goal of the season. Just over a minute later, Courtney Ayers beat her defender on the left side and sent a quick pass to Fogle on the left side of the box. After taking a touch toward goal, Fogle tucked her shot inside the far, right post for the 7-0 Messiah lead.
 
The Falcons would add one goal after the break, but controlled play throughout the entirety of the period. The goal was an exciting one as Bella Touzeau found the foot of Bailie Dull on the right side of the box in the 65th minute for Dull's first career tally. Dull hit a one-time, right-footed strike to the back of the net that gave Messiah their eighth and final score of the day.
 
Messiah outshot the Golden Wolves 25-0 in the match, putting 15 attempts on frame.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will hit the road for their final two matches of the regular season with tilts against Stevenson on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. and the regular season finale against York at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.