MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – In just the second minute of Tuesday night's match, the No. 1 Messiah men's soccer team faced a 1-0 deficit. On a counterattack, Penn State Harrisburg found the back of the net on a quick shot from the right side. It took 45 minutes, but the Falcons found their equalizer off the foot of Sam Phillips in the 47th minute. Grant Johnson assisted on Phillips' first goal, but the first year was not done. Eleven minutes later, Phillips was at it again, scoring the eventually game-winner off a feed from Josh Bratager in the 59th minute.
 
Phillips' team-leading seventh goal of the season gave Messiah a 2-1 victory and helped improve Messiah's record to 10-0-1 on the season.
 
The Falcons will face a tough conference test when the No. 12 Widener Pride come to Grantham for Homecoming on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons and Pride will square off at 3:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field in a rematch of the 2022 MAC Commonwealth Championship Game.
 
How It Happened
Less than two minutes into Tuesday night's match, the Penn State Harrisburg Lions struck on a counterattack that resulted in the game's opening goal. The Lions' Kobe Harris created space on the right side and took a quick shot that took the Falcons' defense be surprise. Harris' low shot skipped into the back of the net, just inside the right post for a 1-0 Penn State Harrisburg lead in just the second minute of play.
 
That would be all of the offense in the opening half with the two sides attempting just three total shots. Messiah's lone first-half attempt came in the 45th minute. With time winding down before the half, Stefan Leitzel sent a header high.
 
Messiah looked like a different team coming out of the half. The increase in intensity quickly turned into a pair of goals that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 Messiah lead by the 58th minute. Sam Phillips found the back of the net in both the 47th and 58th minutes to give Messiah the lead. In the 47th minute, Grant Johnson held possession on the defensive line and sent a long ball forward for Phillips. A tremendous run past the Lions' defense found Phillips in on the keeper. After a header down to control the feed, Phillips took a quick shot that beat the keeper and leveled the match at 1-1.
 
Just a few minutes later, the Falcons would take the lead on another Phillips goal. Matt McDonald took advantage of a loose touch by the Lions' on the right side. McDonald beat the defender to the 50-50 ball and brought possession into the box. A pass to Josh Bratager was connected and after a touch Bratager turned down a shot to find an unmarked Sam Phillips on the left side. Phillips hammered home what turned out to be the game-winning goal in his second career multi-goal game. Phillips also scored twice against Rutgers-Camden on Sept. 9.
 
Over the final 30 minutes, Messiah threatened for an insurance goal, but would have to settle for the 2-1 final score.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, Messiah improves to 10-0-1 on the season and will be back in action on Saturday night when they welcome the undefeated Widener Pride to Grantham at 3:00 p.m. on Homecoming. The Pride are currently ranked No. 12 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll that was released on Oct. 3. Widener is 9-0-0 on the season and has outscored their opponents 27-6.
 
The Falcons and Pride met in the MAC Commonwealth Championship Game a year ago with Cole Cristian finding the back of the net twice in the opening five minutes en route to a 5-0 Messiah victory.