SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 2 Messiah men's soccer team drew the Salisbury Sea Gulls on Saturday afternoon by a 1-1 final score. The Sea Gulls took a 1-0 lead at the half after scoring a free kick goal in the 31st minute, but Ben Lefever found the equalizer for the Falcons in the 60th minute. Lefever's goal leveled the match at 1-1, but the Falcons were unable to find the game-winner, drawing with Salisbury.
 
The Falcons were in control of much of the match, but Salisbury's physical style of play did halt numerous chances with defenders keeping Messiah's forwards at bay. While the Falcons did hold a 10-4 advantage in shots, it was their fewest attempts in a game this season.
 
With Saturday's draw, the Falcons move to 5-0-1 on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday as they take on local rival Elizabethtown College in the Marshmallow Bowl at 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
 
Salisbury Takes First-Half Lead
The opening half featured just five combined shots between the Falcons and Sea Gulls. Each team put one shot on goal in the half, with Messiah's Cole Cristian's attempt in the 20th minute saved. The Sea Gulls took advantage of their chance in the 28th minute. After a foul outside the top of the box, Salisbury lined up for a free kick. Alex Floyd slipped a feed to the right side to get Brady Young some space to the side of the Messiah wall. Young ripped a shot inside of the left post for a 1-0 lead.
 
The tally was the lone goal of the opening half and the Sea Gulls took a 1-0 lead into the break.
 
Falcons Score Equalizer
In the 61st minute, the Sea Gulls cleared a ball away and had numbers on a breakaway. The Falcons got great hustle from Ben Vollmer to chase down the Salisbury counter attack. Vollmer got the initial stop on a slotted pass attempt and then Chad Vrolijk won the 50-50 ball against the same Sea Gull forward. From there, Vrolijk took a massive hit from Salisbury's Alex Floyd that resulted in a yellow card, but Messiah held the advantage and the referee said play on. Davis Pagett took control and pushed forward, slipping a pass to Cole Cristian on the left side of the box. Cristian sent a low cross into the box that got through to the far side of the box and right to the foot of Ben Lefever. Lefever controlled the feed with the left foot and crushed a right-footed strike into the back of the net for the equalizer.
 
Messiah threatened throughout the remainder of the game, but their most quality of chances did not have enough pace on their shots to really scare of the back of the net. The result was a 1-1 draw.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will now turn their attention to local rival Elizabethtown in the annual Marshmallow Bowl on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.. The Falcons will host the Blue Jays for just the second time since 2016. In 2021, Messiah an Elizabethtown drew 0-0 on Shoemaker Field.