GRANTHAM, Pa. - In front of a Homecoming crowd, the No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team scored a pair of second-half goals by Kristina Akselsen to claim the 2-0 victory over the visiting Widener Pride. Messiah controlled the match, holding a 28-1 advantage in shots, however the one Widener chance required a nice save by Ava Wert on a breakaway midway through the first half.
 
Kristina Akselsen netted Messiah's first goal in the 58th minute off a feed from Kaitlyn Laird before scoring her second on a penalty kick in the 69th minute. With the homecoming victory, Messiah improves to 9-2-0 on the season and 2-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Gettysburg for a non-conference match with the Bullets at 7:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons and Pride played a scoreless opening half, but there were plenty of chances to be had. Messiah held the majority of possession and earned quality opportunities throughout the half. Early on, Messiah forced saves in the third and fourth minutes with shots on goal from Kaitlyn Laird and Thea Neimond, respectively. In the eighth minute, Hannah Adair found some space and ripped a shot that looked like it would find the back of the net, but it rattled off the crossbar and the match remained scoreless.
 
On a counter attack in the 27th minute, Widener had a breakaway chance with Kelly Barr in on keeper Ava Wert. With Barr bearing down on her, Wert went to the ground and made a quality save on the shot. It was the only save Wert had to make on the night, but it was an important one.
 
The match stood scoreless into the second half, but Messiah's offense picked up in intensity. The Falcons attempted seven shots between the 47th and 58th minutes, forcing Samantha Coon, the Widener keeper, to make a trio of saves. The last of those seven shots was taken by Kristina Akselsen and put the Falcons on the board. Kaitlyn Laird found Akselsen at the top of the box, sending her pass through some traffic. Akselsen, who had time, collected herself and stuck a ball to the back of the net for a 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
In the 69th minute, Akselsen would double the lead, scoring a penalty kick after Mia Libby was taken down in the box on a run down the right side.
 
Messiah earned the 2-0 victory by scoring both of their goals in the second half. The brace for Akselsen is the first multi-goal game of her career.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah improves to 9-2-0 on the season and 2-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Gettysburg to take on the Bullets on a non-conference match at 7:00 p.m.