CHESTER, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2016) – The Widener University field hockey team fell to #1 nationally-ranked Messiah by a 5-0 score on Saturday afternoon at Edith R. Dixon Field.
 
Messiah (8-1, MAC Commonwealth 2-0), which has beaten four ranked opponents this fall, scored twice in the first half and three more times in the second frame to earn their eighth victory of the season. Moriah Pfautz was the first of five different players to score when she found the back of the cage in the 12th minute after another Falcon shot hit the post. Kristin Donohue then doubled the lead in the 16th minute by finishing off a penalty corner.
 
The Falcons scored three times over a span of 26:44 in the second half to produce the final outcome. Carissa Gehman, Taylor Holt and Taylor Wiederrecht provided the markers to allow the top-ranked visitors to come away with the five-goal win.
 
Widener (5-4, MAC Commonwealth 1-1) was led by senior Mikayla Ninos (Northampton, Pa.), who registered a season-high 12 saves between the pipes. Sophomores Sarah Quintus (Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Katie Cleary (Sewell, N.J.) each recorded a defensive save in the first and second half, respectively. Messiah's Shelby Landes turned away one shot to earn the victory.
 
The Pride will next trek to Cabrini for a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7:00 p.m.