GRANTHAM, Pa. - With the time slipping away in a 1-1 game against the Stevens Ducks on Saturday night, the Messiah women's soccer team scored the game-winning goal with just 14 seconds left on the clock. After a Messiah shot was saved by the Ducks and a defender cleared the ball away from the goal line with 30 seconds remaining, Messiah earned a corner kick. Kristina Akselsen stepped up and knocked a perfectly placed corner into the side netting for a 2-1 game winner for the Falcons.
 
The goal lifted the Falcons to their second-straight victory of the young season.
 
Earlier in the match, Messiah fell into a 1-0 deficit after Stevens cleaned up a loose ball in the box in the 29th minute to take the lead. The Falcons trailed until the 65th minute when Messiah earned a penalty kick. Bella Touzeau converted the penalty to tie the match at 1-1, setting the stage for Akselsen's late-game heroics.
 
Throughout the final half hour of the match, Messiah created plenty of dangerous chances, but needed the final corner kick from Akselsen to clinch the match by a 2-1 final score. The victory sets the stage for a showdown with No. 1 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday night in Baltimore, Md. at 7:00 p.m. between two of the top three teams in the country.
 
Falling Behind
As mentioned, the Falcons fell into a 1-0 hole after a Stevens goal in the 29th minute. The Ducks took advantage of a loose ball in the box with Amelia Rehrig connecting on a half volley to give Stevens their first goal of the season and a 1-0 lead..
 
Despite the Stevens goal, the Falcons sent four shots on frame in the first half and attempted six total in the period, but were shut out in the first 45 minutes. As a result, Messiah trailed 1-0 heading into the half.
 
Creating Opportunities
After the break, Messiah began picking up the pace. The result was logging 16 shots in the box score across the final 45 minutes while allowing just two attempts from the Ducks. While Messiah was racking up the shots and opportunities, they were unable to find the back of the net until the 65th minute. After a direct ball forward put Bella Touzeau into the box with the keeper. After Touzeau's touch went wide of the goal she was taken down by the Ducks' goalie, giving the Falcons a penalty kick. Touzeau stepped up and deftly knocked home the penalty to tie the match at 1-1 with 25 minutes left to play.
 
With the match level, Messiah continued to pressure, creating plenty of chances including four shots on goal that were saved.

Nearly Walk-Off Winner
The game remained even at 1-1 with just a minute remaining, Messiah forced a turnover in the midfield and quickly pressured forward with a pass finding the foot of Brittany Laird. After a controlling touch, Laird's defender slipped. With some space, Laird carried into the box and ripped a shot from the right side. The shot was saved, but the rebound bounced in the direction of Touzeau on the left post. As Touzeau was stepping to the ball, a Stevens' defender came from out of nowhere and cleared the ball out of play. The result was a corner kick for the Falcons with less than 30 seconds to play. By the time Kristina Akselsen lined up the corner the clock and ticked down to just 14 seconds. Akselsen's delivery was perfect. From the left side, Akselsen delivered a ball that lofted over the keeper's hands, bounced on the goal line and nestled into the side netting for the game-winning goal with just seconds left on the clock.
 
After the ensuing Messiah celebration, the Ducks were unable to do anything with the remaining moments and the Falcons snuck away with a 2-1 victory.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Baltimore, Md. to take on the No. 1 team in the country in the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are the defending National Champions and with host the Falcons in a top-three showdown at 7:00 p.m. The game is a rematch of last year's National Semifinal that saw Johns Hopkins win en route to their National Championship.