GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Saturday evening, the Messiah University men's soccer team defeated the Lions of Albright College 3-1 to close out the regular season. The Falcons got off to a quick start, with Sam Phillips finding Josh Bratager in the eighth minute to give the Falcons a 1-0 advantage. The Falcons doubled their lead right out of the halftime break in the 48th minute. Patrick Lee found Davis Pagett inside the box, who chipped the ball over the keeper to make it 2-0. Josh Bratager got his second goal of the night from Ekow Yankah in the 62nd minute. The Lions got a goal back in the 67th minute, but it was not enough, with the game ending 3-1.
 
Up next, the Falcons host the MAC Commonwealth semi-finals on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. As the top seed, the Falcons host the fourth-seeded Golden Wolves of Alvernia University.
 
First Half
The Falcons opened the game on the front foot, with shots in the first five minutes from Josh Bratager and Patrick Lee both forcing saves by the Lions goalkeeper. The early pressure paid off, when in the eighth minute Jarec Morlote drove the ball down the right wing into the box. Morlote fired a cross through the six-yard box towards Sam Phillips, who got a slight touch on the ball, redirecting it into the path of Josh Bratager who found the net to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. The Falcons didn't let up, forcing four more save in the next 15 minutes from the Albright keeper on shots from Phillips, Matt Griffin, and Kyle Spodnik. The Lions began to settle into the game but had no significant offense to show for it. The best chance for the Falcons to double their lead came in the 41st minute, but a great save on an up-close Matt Schumacher shot kept the score 1-0 going into the half.
 
Second Half
The Falcons didn't waste time getting going in the second half. In the 48th minute Patrick Lee picked up the ball in the Lions half and drove towards the box and found Davis Pagett with a perfect through ball to split the Albright defense. Pagett gathered the pass and chipped it over the incoming Lions keeper to double the Falcons lead, making it 2-0. Over the next 15 minutes Ekow Yankah got into the action, firing two shots on target, but not being able to find the net. However, in the 62nd minute, Yankah found Josh Bratager on the edge of the box who fired a first time shot into the bottom corner for his second goal of the might, giving the Falcons a 3-0 lead. The Lions responded quickly, firing a shot off a Falcons turnover into the top left corner to make it 3-1. Both teams would hit the woodwork once in the final 10 minutes, but fail to find the net again, with the contest finishing 3-1.
 
Stats
Josh Bratager scored two goals for the Falcons. Davis Pagett added a goal. Sam Phillips, Patrick Lee, and Ekow Yankah all tallied an assist. The Falcons had 24 shots, with 14 shots on goal. Albright took nine shots, with three shots on net. Messiah had five corners to Albright's two. Adam Carter had one save in net for the Falcons.
 
Next
The Falcons host the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. As the top seed, the Falcons host the fourth-seeded Golden Wolves of Alvernia University.