WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – After a first half of fractured play, with both teams unable to crack the backline, the Lycoming College men's soccer team broke through with a pair of second-half goals to post a 2-0 win and end a 52-game unbeaten streak in MAC Commonwealth play for Messiah College on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 14, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.
 
"Obviously, this is one that we all looked forward to since losing to them in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game last year," third-year head coach Nate Gibboney said. "The guys had a great week of practice. They were so focused in. I am really happy for them. They earned it."
 
The win helps Lycoming (10-1-2 overall, 3-0-1 MAC Commonwealth), the fourth-ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the latest NSCAA poll, stay in first place in the conference halfway through the eight-game slate. Messiah, the seventh-ranked team in the region and ranked 25^th in the latest D3soccer.com poll, falls to 8-4-1 overall and 2-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
"A lot of it was preparation off the field, what we did in the classroom before coming into a big game like this," sophomore Kyle Thomas (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) said. "The guys were pumped up from the time they woke up. We know that we had to bring the energy and we could get something like this done."
 
After a few close calls in the early minutes of the second-half, the Warriors finally broke through in the 59^th minute, with a quick counterattack, as sophomore Abdullahi Abdi (Seattle, Wash./James Garfield) won a second ball, passed it to Logan as he reached the 18-yard box. Sophomore Jordan Logan (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) fired a quick pass outside for sophomore Mateo Velasquez (Scotrun, Pa./Pocono Mountain East), who passed back into the box for Abdi. Running into the goalmouth, Abdi one-timed a shot into the left corner.
 
"I was making a run and I saw Mateo looking up and I saw the defender and then I ran behind him and got the ball," Abdi said. "It was a play about who wanted it more. I needed it more so I got it."
 
Gibboney added, "That was a total team goal."
 
The Warriors continued to control play for much of the remaining time after the goal and in the 80^th minute, they sealed the win with a header by Thomas off a perfect corner kick to the far post by Velasquez.
 
"Mateo put it on a silver platter and luckily, I was there to go and get it," Thomas said.
 
"Mateo has been coming along all season," Gibboney said of Velazquez, who assisted on both goals. "He understands his role and what we need from him. Today, in the second half, he stepped up on a big stage."
 
The defense held off the Warriors late in the game, with Gildea making a diving save off a free kick attempt by Zeb Cross in the 81^st minute. Messiah was able to get just one more shot off before time ran out, giving Lycoming its first win over the Falcons since a 1-0 win in the Middle Atlantic Conference playoffs in 1999.
 
"Our defense definitely stepped up," Abdi said. "Our defense showed that we can handle anything in the back and our offense was able to answer. At this moment, it doesn't matter who we play, we won't bunker in. We're going to come out to play against every team."
 
The Lycoming offense, in fact, did hold a 14-13 advantage in shots taken, while forcing five corner kicks. The Warrior defense, meanwhile, allowed just one corner kick.
 
Senior Josh Gildea (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) made five saves to earn Lycoming's eighth shutout of the season. Connor Bell stopped three shots for the Falcons.
 
The Warriors get back on field on Saturday, Oct. 10, when they head to Alvernia for a 6 p.m. MAC Commonwealth showdown.