GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Saturday evening, the fifteenth-ranked Messiah University men's soccer team cruised to a 5-0 win over the Eagles of Eastern University to cap off the 2026 regular season. The Falcons opened the game strong with a goal from
Matt Griffin from
Owen Resch in just the second minute. The Falcons extended their lead to two with a goal from
Sam Phillips by
Kyle Spodnik in the 17th minute. The Falcons pushed their lead to three in the 21st minute on the second goal of the half from Griffin. The Falcons opened the second half strong with a goal from
Jalen Keller off a cross from Resch to give the Falcons a 4-0 lead. The Falcons added a goal from
Gianni Pezzino in the 84th minute to give the Falcons a 5-0 win.
Up next, the Falcons host the Spartans of York College on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal game.
First Half
The Falcons looked to get on the board early in the second minute on a corner kick.
Owen Resch sent the corner into the middle of the box and
Matt Griffin headed the ball into the back of the goal to give the Falcons the 1-0 lead. The Falcons continued on the attack and looked to add to their lead in the 17th minute. After receiving the ball of the right side, Resch sent a through ball towards the corner to
Kyle Spodnik. Spodnik slotted a ball to the back post and
Sam Phillips ripped a one-timer into the back of the goal to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Just three minutes later, the Falcons added to their lead on Griffin's second goal of the game, this time from Spodnik to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. The Falcons added a shot on goal from
Caleb Daniels, Resch, and
Grant Shreiner, but each shot was saved to keep the score at 3-0 headed into the break.
Second Half
The Falcons continued on the attack to start the second half. In the 50th minute,
Owen Resch sent a cross from the left side of the box and
Jalen Keller headed the ball into the back of the goal to give the Falcons a 4-0 lead. After some back-and-forth play,
Gianni Pezzino scored a goal to extend the Falcons lead to five in the 84th minute. The Eagles got on the board in the 90th minute on a penalty kick to put the final score at 5-1.
Stats
Matt Griffin led the Falcons with two goals.
Jalen Keller,
Gianni Pezzino, and
Sam Phillips each scored a goal.
Owen Resch and
Kyle Spodnik each tallied two assists. The Falcons totaled 38 shots with 18 shots on goal. The Eagles tallied five shots with two shots on goal. Messiah earned 18 corners to Eastern's two.
Killian O'Reilly earned the win in goal.
Samuel Godoy also earned time in goal and made one save.
Next
The Falcons host the Spartans of York College on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal game.
