GRANTHAM, Pa. – The fifth-ranked Salisbury University field hockey team used two first-quarter goals and strong defense to prevail, 2-1, in a top-10 clash with eighth-ranked Messiah on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Rebecca Lloyd's penalty corner was played high and passed along the arc. Allie Davis's shot on goal was deflected in front of the cage by McKenzie Jamison.
• Just over three minutes later, the Sea Gulls doubled their advantage on another penalty corner. Emmalee Moore blasted the ball past the Falcon defense.
• After back-to-back saves on penalty corners by Dom Farrace, Messiah was able to break through the Salisbury defense with a corner play of its own in the 21st minute. Leah Bryner got the ball back after inserting the penalty corner from Lauren Seubert and found the back of the net to trim the SU lead in half.
• The Salisbury defense clamped down after that goal. SU's backline blocked three Messiah shots in the second half to help seal the win.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Salisbury breaks the tie in the all-time series with Messiah. The Sea Gulls now hold the 21-20 series advantage over the Falcons.
• It is the second consecutive game that McKenzie Jamison and Emmalee Moore scored for the Sea Gulls.
• Dom Farrace made four saves in goal for her first win of the season.

MESSIAH GAME NOTES

• Messiah held the shot advantage, 13-8, over Salisbury.
• Leah Bryner scored the lone goal for the Falcons.
• Catie Brubaker saved one shot in the loss.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury will continue its season-opening road swing with a showdown with third-ranked Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, Sept. 15.
• The top-five tussle is set to begin at 6 p.m. at Homewood Field.