Box Score GRANTHAM, PA – The Messiah University women's soccer team captured another MAC Commonwealth crown as the top seeded Falcons downed the second seeded York College Spartans 4-0 in the conference title match on Saturday in Grantham.
The Falcons had a huge first half, scoring four goals and putting the Spartans behind the eight ball early as they scored less than five minutes into the game.
Messiah, currently ranked fifth in the country, improves to 16-1-3 as they advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament next week. The Spartans see another strong campaign end with a record of 12-4-5.
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons jumped on the Spartans early as they found the back of the net on their first shot of the game. York committed a turnover deep in their own defensive zone. Addi Martin collected the miscue and flipped a pass across the top of the box to Bella Touzeau. Touzeau took a pair of touches and then unleased a shot into the upper left 90 for the early lead just 4:51 into the game.
• The Spartans had a great chance in the 20^th minute of the game as they earned their first corner kick. Jaelyn Small hit good service into the box and Alyssa Russell took a shot that just missed the frame to the outside of the upper right 90.
• The Falcons ramped up the pressure and they got a second tally in the 29^th minute of play. Brittany Laird had a one-on-one with Spartan goalie Joss Metz. The first year Spartan made a great save to turn away Laird but the Falcons collected the rebound in the box. A second Falcon shot in the flurry was blocked but Julia Martin picked up the rebound of the second shot and slid a pass to an open Laird who didn't have to move after her first shot as she put it home inside the right post.
• The Falcons made it 3-0 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. Kierstyn Fogle had the ball in the box and slipped a pass to her left. Hannah Adair cranked a shot that just eluded Metz off her fingertips into the goal for the three-goal bulge. Adair found the back of the net again just 2:14 later as she had a break away to increase the lead to 4-0.
• Messiah had a huge statistical advantage at the half as they outshot York 16-1 in overall shots including 7-0 in shots on goal.
• The Spartans were able to keep the Falcons off the board in the second half but Messiah had a big enough lead that it didn't matter. Messiah finished the game outshooting York 22-2 overall and 8-1 in shots on goal. The Falcons had a 3-1 margin in corner kicks.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 3-8 all-time in conference championship games including 0-4 all-time in the MAC Commonwealth title game, dropping all four match ups against Messiah … the Spartans last picked up a tournament championship in 2015 when they beat Mary Washington 1-0 in double overtime to win the Capital Athletic Conference championship as a sixth seed … the Spartans got shut out for the eighth time this year … the four goals allowed were the most against the Spartans this year … the Spartans were limited to two shots in the match, the third time this year they have been held to only two shots in a game first year goalie Joss Metz made four saves in the game.
 
Up Next
The loss ends a strong season for the Spartans and also ends the careers of four tremendous Spartans. Morgan Joyce, Alyssa Russell, Brooke Flugman, and Teresa Gonzalez close out their York careers with a combined record of 50-23-9. They played in four MAC Commonwealth championship games in their time in a Spartan uniform.