ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - On Friday afternoon at Olson Field, Eastern Women's Soccer opened Homecoming Weekend against the No. 1 ranked Messiah Falcons. First-year forward
Kate Malcolm scored her first career goal in the second half, but the Falcons came away with a 5-1 win.
The Falcons came into Friday's matchup with an 11-1 record. Three of their victories came against other top-25 teams, and their lone loss came to No. 17 Rowan on Wednesday. Their top goalkeeper, Ava Wert, had given up just three goals with seven shutouts.
From the opening kick, Messiah dominated both possession and field position. They made crisp passes all over the pitch, and moved effectively without the ball to create a bevy of scoring chances. The Falcons finished with 26 total shots, 15 of which were on target.
Faith Leake stood tall against a relentless attack, making 10 saves for the third time in five matches, including several brilliant stops on the doorstep.
Hannah Adair opened the scoring in the 16th minute, and Brittany Laird doubled the advantage 10 minutes later to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Early in the second half, Addi Martin notched a brace in less than three minutes to put Messiah up by four, and Nikki Davis capped off the scoring for the Falcons in the 77th minute.
In the 70th minute, the Eagles were able to spoil the Falcons' shutout bid. On a brilliant cross from
Zoe Roidl on the right side, Malcolm's chance looked to be saved, but the goal was awarded after it was determined that the ball crossed over the goal line. Along with it being Malcolm's first career tally, it was also the first career assist for Roidl.
Malcolm becomes the fourth player in program history to score against the Falcons, joining teammate
Kelly Lyons, who scored against Messiah back in 2023. Kelsey Doutrich opened the scoring against the Falcons in their 2011 match, and the Eagles also scored against Messiah in back in 1998.
Eastern (7-3-3) will have an eight-day break before returning to action next Saturday on the road at York. Kickoff against the Spartans is set for 12 noon.
