FREDERICK, Md. – The Messiah Field Hockey team traveled to Hood College on Wednesday afternoon for a battle against the Blazers. Each team was 3-0 in conference play heading into the midweek contest. The Falcons jumped to a 3-0 lead behind shots from Audrey Weger, Naomi Lyter, and Aubrey Clark. Olivia Zaskoda notched three goals in 3:11 in the second quarter as the Falcons held a 6-1 lead at halftime. Weger extended the lead to 7-1 with a penalty stroke goal in the third before Clark notched her second of the night in the fourth quarter to solidify the Falcons 8-1 win, improving to 4-0 in conference play.

The Falcons return to Anderson Field at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 to take on the Eagles of Eastern University.

First Half
Messiah's first offensive opportunity came just shy of five minutes into play when the Falcons earned their first penalty corner. Naomi Lyter fired a shot on goal, but a defensive save kept the ball in play. Lyter fired a second shot that was saved by the goalie before Audrey Weger found the ball and the back of the cage to give Messiah the early 1-0 lead. Five minutes of back-and-forth play was broken up by a shot from Olivia Zaskoda in the 10th minute. Two minutes later, Anna Bea Koenig sent a restart ball straight to the front of the cage where Naomi Lyter tipped it past the goalie to extend the Messiah lead to 2-0. Aubrey Clark was able to find the back of the cage with 14 seconds remaining to give Messiah a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.

The Falcons earned a penalty corner in the first minute of the second half, but Chelsea Carpenter's shot was blocked by the Blazers. At the other end of the field, Hood had their first shot of the game on a breakaway run and Joy Lippert was able to make a diving save before the Blazers earned their first penalty corner of the game, resulting in a goal that cut the Messiah lead to 3-1. Ellie Lefever and Olivia Zaskoda both missed shots before Messiah earned a penalty corner at the other end of the field. Shots by Lefever and Carpenter were both saved by Hood defenders before the Falcons earned a second corner opportunity. Anna Bea Koenig finished a give-and-go with Lefever at the top of the circle with a strong strike through the middle. Zaskoda was able to top the ball for the redirect to notch her first goal of the game. Lefever and Carpenter each fired shots on goals that were saved by the Hood goalie before Zaskoda knocked the ball in to extend the lead to 5-1. Just a minute later, Zaskoda registered her second hat-trick in as many games when Naomi Lyter drove to the right post to draw the goalie out before finding Zaskoda at the left poll. The Falcons maintained their 6-1 lead into the third.

Second Half
Messiah continued their dominant efforts in the second half, earning a penalty corner 30 seconds into play. The Falcons tallied six shots in 12 minutes, with Audrey Weger placing a shot on goal just over a minute in that forced a save by the Hood goalie. With just over a minute remaining, Olivia Zaskoda fired a shot on goal that was saved by a Blazers' defender before Messiah earned a penalty stroke. Audrey Weger stepped up to the spot and fired a shot in the upper left corner to extend the lead to 7-1.

The Blazers had an early penalty corner, but the Falcons defense was able to clear the ball out. A shot by the Blazers was stopped by Joy Lippert before a second penalty corner resulted in a wide shot from Hood. Aubrey Clark had a pair of shots on goal saved by the Blazers before the Falcons earned a penalty corner in the 55th minute. It looked as if the Blazers would clear the ball, but Weger was able to regain possession and find Clark at the front of the goal. Clark used a spin-around shot to slot the ball past a defender to notch Messiah's eighth goal of the night. The Blazers fired two shots in the final minutes but Messiah earned the 8-1 win.

Stats
Olivia Zaskoda led the Falcons with three goals while Aubrey Clark and Audrey Weger each added a pair. Naomi Lyter also tallied a goal in the win. Lyter and Anna Bea Koenig each tallied a pair of assists. Clark, Chelsea Carpenter, Ellie Lefever, and Weger each tallied an assist. The Falcons outshot the Blazers 28-6, placing 18 on goal. The Falcons totaled seven penalty corners and Joy Lippert picked up two saves in goal.

Up Next
The Falcons return to Anderson Field at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 to take on the Eagles of Eastern University.