READING, Pa. – An overwhelming effort from the No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team on Saturday evening led the Falcons to a 2-0 victory against the Albright Lions. Messiah outshot the Lions 27-1, putting 16 attempts on frame en route to the conference win. The Falcons netted a pair of tallies with Hannah Adair scoring in the 30th minute and Ella Arace finding the twine in the 44th minute.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 7-2-0 on the season and 1-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Tuesday when they square off with the DeSales Bulldogs in a non-conference match at 4:00 p.m. in Center Valley, Pa.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons were on the attack for the entirety of Saturday evening's match, attempting a total of 27 shots against just one from the Lions. Messiah's heavy pressure took a little while to yield and results, but after six shots on frame in the first 30 minutes of play were turned away, Hannah Adair broke the seal in the 30th minute on a strike from the left side of the box. The play began when Messiah earned a corner kick from the left side. After playing it short, a delivery into the right side of the box was headed by Julia Martin to the foot of an unmarked Adair 10 yards from goal. Adair brought the ball down and in the process moved closer to the goal mouth. Now five yards out, Adair used her right foot to slip a shot into the middle of the goalmouth for the 1-0 Messiah lead.
 
In the 44th minute, the Falcons scored from a nearly identical spot off a play that had a similar feel to Adair's goal before it. After a cross from the left side was brought down in the box, a square pass from Kierstyn Fogle found Ella Arace just left of the penalty spot inside the box. An unmarked Arace wound up and quick ripped a right-footed strike before any of the three Lions closing in on her could impact her attempt. Her shot snuck inside the left post for a 2-0 Messiah lead.
 
That was all the offense that Messiah could generate, despite attempting 11 shots and putting seven on frame in the second half, the Falcons earned the 2-0 victory to begin conference play.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will head to Center Valley, Pa. to take on the DeSales Bulldogs in a non-conference match on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The Falcons and DeSales have only met twice in their program's history with Messiah holding a 2-0-0 record with victories in 2017 and 2018.