GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 3 Messiah men's soccer team earned a 3-2 victory over the Elizabethtown Blue Jays on Tuesday night in the 2023 edition of the Marshmallow Bowl. The marshmallows and goals were flying in the opening minutes. The Blue Jays found the back of the net in the second minute to take an early 1-0 lead. on the board first, scoring in the second minute. Messiah quickly countered with a beauty of a finish from Patrick Lee off a feed from Ben Lefever in the fourth minute.
 
After halftime, Matt McDonald scored just seconds into the second half and Harrison Keator scored an insurance tally in the 84th minute. The Keator tally turned out to be a big one as Elizabethtown scored off a set piece with just over two minutes remaining. Messiah held on in the final minutes to claim their 38th all-time victory over their rivals to the east. The Falcons hold an all-time record of 38-18-3 against the Blue Jays.
 
Messiah outshot the Blue Jays 16-4 in the match, putting eight attempts on frame against just two for Elizabethtown.
 
Early Flurry
Tuesday night's match began with a flurry of activity. Messiah quickly pushed forward in the opening minutes, but Elizabethtown was first to strike scoring on a quick counter attack in the second minute. Pedro Vinent found Pedro Gizardi for the opening tally with a strike inside the left post for a 1-0 lead just over 90 seconds in the contest.
 
The Falcons wasted little time finding the equalizer, scoring less than two minutes later off a flick from Patrick Lee. In the midfield, Matt McDonald gained possession for the Falcons, springing Ben Lefever loose down the right side. Lefever worked his way into the box and slotted a feed to the foot of Patrick Lee at the penalty spot. Lee put his foot in the ground and chipped the feed overtop of the keeper and into the back of the net for the equalizer in the fourth minute of play.
 
After the early excitement, neither team could find the back of the net for the remainder of the half. Despite a 7-2 advantage in shots for the Falcons in the opening 45 minutes, the match was deadlocked at 1-1 heading to the second half.
 
McDonald Strikes
Just over 30 seconds into the second half, Messiah would take the lead. Grant Johnson took possession in Messiah's end right in front of the Blue Jays bench and sent a long, direct ball over the top to a streaking Matt McDonald. The ball landed softly and took two gentle hops in the box before McDonald elevated to guide the feed past the charging keeper. The shot found the back of the net and gave Messiah a quick 2-1 lead early in the second half.
 
Keator Scores His First
Messiah would add some insurance in the 84th minute with Harrison Keator scoring the first goal of his career. Keator took possession on the left side and send a pass to McDonald at the top of the box. McDonald one-touched the feed to Patrick Lee above the box. Lee then slotted the pass back to Keator, who continued his run toward goal. A one-touch strike from Keator tucked under the keeper's left arm and gave Messiah a 3-1 lead.
 
Blue Jays Net Late Tally
It looked as if Messiah would cruise for the 3-1 victory, but the Blue Jays would not go down without a fight. In the 88th minute, the Blue Jays would fouled in Messiah territory, just inside of midfield. The Blue Jays played the free kick to the middle of the field and Nikos Gousios unleashed a rocket from 30-plus yards out that went under the bar and cut Messiah's lead to one at 3-2.
 
That was the end of the scoring as Messiah earned a 3-2 victory, improving to 5-0-1 in the process.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday in potentially their stiffest test thus far. The No. 1 University of Mary Washington Eagles will come to Grantham for a heavyweight showdown between the No. 3 Falcons and No. 1 Eagles. Messiah and Mary Washington have met seven times in program history, with Messiah holding a 5-1-1 overall record. However, the two teams have not met since 2017 with Messiah earning a 3-1 victory.