CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team fell behind 1-0 against the DeSales Bulldogs just 16 seconds into Tuesday's match. Seven unanswered Messiah tallies followed as the Falcons rallied for the 7-1 victory. Brittany Laird led Messiah's offense, netting her first career hat trick. Laird found the back the net in the sixth, 19th, and 51st minutes. Four other Falcons scored as well with Lydia Ring, Kierstyn Fogle, Kaitlyn Laird, and Kristina Akselsen adding tallies in the runaway victory.
 
Brittany Laird's hat trick was the first hat trick for a Messiah women's soccer player since Jesse Fisher netted three goals against Hood College on Sept. 29, 2018. It was the 37th hat trick in program history.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 8-2 on the season and will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Widener Pride on Homecoming at 6:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
 
How It Happened
DeSales opened the match with the opening touch. A long ball over the top bounced into the box and required keeper Ava Wert to come off her line. Wert was just a moment late on the punch, tackling the Bulldogs attack in the process at the top of the box. The result was a penalty kick for the Bulldogs. Tess Rodgers stepped to the spot and hit a shot into the back of the net despite Wert guessing the correct way. Just 16 seconds into the match, DeSales held a 1-0 lead.
 
The lead held for less than five minutes when Julia Martin flicked ahead a feed to Brittany Laird on the right side. Laird took a challenging shot across her body that snuck inside the left post for the equalizer in the sixth minute.
 
In the 19th minute, Laird would strike again, this time heading home a corner kick delivery from Bella Touzeau to give Messiah the 2-0 lead.
 
The Falcons would add on in the 32nd minute. Kristina Akselsen carried possession down the left side, taking a shot from inside the box. The initial attempt was saved, but stayed in the box. A defender attempted to clear the bouncing ball off the goal line, but Lydia Ring was there to fight for possession. Ring and the defender hit the turf, but the ball trickled across the line for a Messiah goal and a 3-1 lead.
 
Another Messiah goal came in the 39th minute when Kierstyn Fogle found the back of the net. Mia Libby made an impressive touch in the midfield to keep possession for the Falcons and slipped a feed to Fogle. With a defender in front of her, Fogle was able to create some space to the right and thread a shot between two defenders, beating the keeper low and to the left for a 4-1 Messiah lead.
 
In the second half, Brittany Laird completed her hat trick with another assist from Bella Touzeau. In the 51st minute, Touzeau sent a hard cross toward the right post for Laird. A firmly hit header found the back of the net for the 37th hat trick in Messiah women's soccer history.
 
Ten minutes later, sister Kaitlyn Laird was in on the action, scoring off a perfectly weighted throughball from Julia Martin. After cutting into the midfield from the right side, Martin slipped a feed on the ground to Laird, who ran onto the pass and hit a one-time, left-footed strike into the back of the net for a 6-1 Messiah advantage.
 
The Falcons' seventh and final goal came in the 62nd minute when Kristina Akselsen was taken down from behind inside the box and was awarded a penalty kick. Akselsen stepped to the spot and deftly converted the attempt, closing out the scoring in the process.
 
Messiah earned the 7-1 victory, netting seven unanswered goals while holding the Bulldogs to just five shots in the match. As a team, the Falcons attempted 32 shots, putting 18 on frame.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah improves to 8-2-0 on the season and will be back in action when they host the Widener Pride on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. on Homecoming.