Grantham, PA – Messiah College scored three goals in the first-half en route to a 4-0 win over Lebanon Valley in the Commonwealth Semifinals on Wednesday night. The win marked Messiah keeper Audra Larson's 55th career shutout, a new record for NCAA Division III women's soccer.
 
The Falcons got on the board in just the third minute of play as Nikki Elsaesser headed through a short corner serve from both Mackenzie Clapper and Macaulay Soto. Elsaesser's header hit off the underside of the crossbar and bounced over the line before Dutchmen keeper Taylor Reinhold could grab it.
 
In the 28th minute Erin Sollenberger sent through the Falcons' second goal, also a header off a corner. Her redirect of the serve curled over the reach of Reinhold and tucked inside the right edge of the net. Clapper picked up another assist on the tally, her fifth of the season.
 
Now leading 2-0, the Falcons continued to hold territory and, less than six minutes before the half, Olivia Snare put them up 3-0. Her shot from the six came off a cross from Lydia Eichorn, with Reinhold seeing the ball stumble out of her hands as Snare ran through for the goal.
 
The Falcons finished the half with a 10-1 edge in shots and 4-0 advantage in corners.
 
In the second-half, Messiah continued to control the game. Sollenberger scored her second goal of the night in the 58th minute to complete the scoring. Like her first goal, this one came on a header, with the assist going to Kyele Bridel from the right side.
 
Messiah finished with a 17-3 edge in shots, with Larson forced to make just a single save. The shutout was the Falcons' 16th in 20 games, with 15 going to Larson. As mentioned, her 55 career shutouts are now a new Division III record. She was previously tied at 54 clean sheets with both former Falcon Autumn Reilly '12 and Tara Carter '12 of Otterbein.
 
The win moved Messiah to 19-0-1 on the season, while Lebanon Valley fell to 14-4-1. The Falcons will next play in the Commonwealth Championship at Stevenson University.