Box Score
GRANTHAM, Pa. – For the second straight season, defending national champions Messiah College (14-1/5-0 CC) defeated men's soccer (9-7-1/1-4-1 CC) by the final score of 3-0. Just like last year, the Falcons had to earn every goal they scored as Albright went-to-toe with one of the best programs in the country Saturday evening at Shoemaker Field.
Going into the match, the Falcons were ranked ninth in the nation on the most recent NSCAA/HendricksCars.com Top-25 National Poll and first on the D3Soccer.com Coaches Poll. With all that said, the Lions had to put that aside knowing that a loss would end their dreams of a conference tournament berth.
The Lions totaled 11 shots in the match, while Messiah who is currently riding a 14 game undefeated streak, totaled 15 shots Saturday evening. Freshman #
Shawn Murphy# led Albright's offense with three shots, while junior #
Chris Tadley# recorded two shots, both of which were on goal.
Messiah's offense was led by Nick Thompson, who scored two of his team's three goals. His first score of the night came in the 16th minute, while his second came in the 61st minute on a penalty kick. Also finding the back of the net was Sam Woodworth in the 29th minute of the first half.
Albright goalkeepers #
Ryan Barr# and #
Steve Pyle# combined for five saves respectively, while Messiah's Jake Berry came up with five stops, including a tremendous save on a #
Mark Yost# free kick from just outside the goal box.
On corner kick opportunities Messiah held a slim 9-4 advantage over Albright, with six of their kicks coming in the second half.
Men's Soccer returns to action next Saturday when they host Lycoming College at 2 p.m. in Shirk Stadium
