GRANTHAM, PA—Three late goals propelled Messiah College men's soccer (#3/#14) past Houghton College, 3-0, as the Highlanders lost for the second time in as many nights to a nationally-ranked opponent.
 
The Highlanders (2-3-0) battled hard against the Falcons (3-1-0) throughout the first half, creating scoring opportunities but failing to put the ball in the back of the net.
 
"In spite of the loss, I felt better about our performance tonight," commented head coach, Matthew Webb.  "We competed better.  We had opportunities to score but just didn't finish."
 
The teams went into the half knotted in a scoreless tie.
 
An early second half header by Jordan Mullen (Fillmore, NY, Fillmore) nearly put the Highlanders up, but an excellent save by Messiah keeper Jonathan Weaver kept the game at a stalemate.
 
Eventually, the sophisticated play of the Falcons broke through the Houghton defenses.
 
In the 65^th and 68^th minutes, goals by Jacob Bender and Colby Thomas put Messiah on top for good.
 
"It was a different style of play from what we saw last night," said Webb.  "Where F&M was big and physical, Messiah was quick and very good on the ball."
 
With only seven seconds remaining in regulation, Danny Rowe tacked on a third goal for Messiah, scoring from the penalty line.
 
At game's end, Messiah outshot the Highlanders 16-9, though Houghton put seven of its shots on net to the Falcons six. 
 
Jacob Dunnett (Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Kennebecasis) collected three saves in the loss for the Highlanders.
 
Men's soccer returns to action on Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00 PM on Burke Field when they will take on the #23 SUNY Geneseo Knights.