GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Wednesday evening, the Messiah University men's soccer team defeated the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College, 3-0, in the annual Marshmallow Bowl game. After a foul in the box, the Falcons earned a penalty kick and
Patrick Lee scored to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute. The Falcons kept pushing on the offensive end but could not find the back of the net until the 66th minute.
Ethan Quadrini scored a goal to push the Falcons lead to 2-0. The Falcons added another goal in the 79th minute by
Kyle Spodnik from Lee to give the Falcons the 3-0 win.
Up next, the Falcons travels to Middletown, Pa. to take on the Lions of Penn St. Harrisburg on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
First Half
The Falcons opened the game pushing the pace on offense to try and get on the board first. The Falcons had a pair of early chances with shots on goal from
Patrick Lee and
Jalen Keller, but each shot was saved by the Blue Jays' goalkeeper to keep the game scoreless in the 21st minute. The Falcons kept the pressure on the Elizabethtown defense and with a foul in the box on
Kyle Spodnik, the Falcons earned a penalty kick opportunity.
Patrick Lee took the penalty kick and drilled the shot into the bottom-right corner to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. After some back-and-forth play, Elizabethtown got a great scoring opportunity with a corner kick in the 43rd minute. The cross sent into the box was headed toward the bottom-right corner, but
Isaac Schmitke stood in front of the goal and kept the Falcons 1-0 lead headed into the break.
Second Half
The Falcons started the second half like the first and looked to add to their lead.
Kyle Spodnik got a shot on goal in the 50th minute, but the Blue Jays' goalkeeper made the save to hold the score at 1-0. The Falcons continued the attack with a
Davis Pagett shot on goal in the 64th minute, but again the shot was saved, and the Falcons still were searching for an insurance goal. The Falcons though would not have to wait long to get on the board again. After
Gabe Redcay sent a cross into the box, the ball bounced around off multiple Blue Jays' defenders, but the final bounce went off of
Ethan Quadrini and into the bottom-left corner to give the Falcons the 2-0 lead. The Falcons continued on the offensive end, looking for that final goal to put the game away in the 79th minute. The Blue Jays attempted to clear the ball, but
Kyle Spodnik stole the ball in the Falcons' attacking third. Spodnik quickly passed it to
Patrick Lee and after Lee dribbled the ball into the box, he sent a pass towards the near post back to Spodnik. Spodnik ripped a shot that bounced off a Blue Jays' defended and into the back of the goal to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. Neither team added a goal the rest of the way and the Falcons earned the 3-0 win in the Marshmallow Bowl.
Stats
Patrick Lee led the Falcons with a goal and an assist.
Ethan Quadrini and
Kyle Spodnik added goals for the Falcons. The Falcons totaled 25 shots with eight shots on goal. Elizabethtown tallied four shots with two shots on goal. Messiah totaled nine corner kicks to Elizabethtown's two.
Killian O'Reilly earned the win in goal for the Falcons.
Next
The Falcons travels to Middletown, Pa. to take on the Lions of Penn St. Harrisburg on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
