FREDERICK, Md. - Hood College put up strong defense against Messiah, but two scoring runs pulled the Falcons to a 9-2 win.

Tai Foster (Honolulu, Hawaii / Punahou) notched one goal for the Blazers. Gio San Fillipo (Penfield, N.Y. / Penfield) added the second Hood goal and grabbed two ground balls. Zach Kauffman (Lancaster, Pa. / Garden Spot) won 8-of-14 on faceoffs and had four ground balls. Brandon McCormick (Lancaster, Pa. / Penn Manor) and Miguel Caruso (Spotsylvania County, Va. / Chancellor) also added four ground balls. Malik Brown (Frederick, Md. / Frederick) had a team-high two caused turnovers. Jared Bileski (Waterloo, Ontario / Rockway Mennonite Collegiate) had one caused turnover and three ground balls. Joey McCulloh (Westminster, Md. / Winters Mill) stopped 12 shots in goal.

Both teams remained scoreless through the opening nine minutes before Foster found the back of the net with 5:50 on the clock, 1-0. The Falcons responded with a three-goal run in the final three minutes for a 3-1 lead.

Messiah continued the scoring with an early goal in the second period (4-1). San Fillipo scored a man up goal with 5:25 to go for a two-goal deficit, 4-2. A Falcon goal one minute later made for a 5-2 disadvantage at the half.

Both teams' defense picked it up in the third period, for a scoreless 15 mintues. Despite the defensive efforts, a four-goal run in the fourth quarter led Messiah to a 9-2 victory.

Chris Ruger had a big day with a game-high seven caused turnovers and seven ground balls. Drew Pagenkopf had two goals, one assist and four ground balls for the Falcons. Cody Rogers added one goal, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Brady Marburger notched four ground balls. Sam Strenel and Brooks Arnold both had seven saves in goal.

Hood travels to Stevenson for a conference game on April 7.