Box Score
Glenside, PA — A strong start and some stellar individual play helped the Messiah College women's lacrosse team to a 16-4 win at Arcadia University Thursday afternoon, as the Falcons snapped a two-game losing skid in the process.
Messiah (5-5, 2-1) used a 7-0 spurt to open the contest en route to a 34 to 18 advantage in total shots on the day, burning the Knights in almost every statistical category: The Falcons finished with 28 ground balls to Acradia's 17 and collected 15 draw controls to the Knights' seven, forcing 20 Arcadia turnovers as well.
Perhaps a testament to Messiah's aggressive nature, the team also committed 14 fouls to Arcadia's five, closing the game with another 7-0 run to register its most lopsided win of the season.
"We've talked a lot recently about working to play to our potential, and today we had a very good effort," said Heather Greer, Messiah head coach. "We were patient on offense and shared the ball well, and we made it tough on Arcadia's defense. Any conference win is a good win, and we're very happy with today's result."
Freshman Kara Geiman continued her recent surge to begin things for Messiah, scoring two goals within the first two minutes of action. Geiman took a pass from sophomore Nikki Lawrence to tack on the team's first goal just 1:09 into play, while another feed from junior Jackie Dando led to Geiman's second tally only 48 seconds later.
Freshman Megan Bovenzi then scored an unassisted goal with 25:57 to play in the first half — one of only three Messiah scores to come without an assist on the day. Senior Jessica Van Hook then registered two of the Falcons' next three scores, while senior Kate Nesterwitz cashed in on a Geiman feed at the 20:17 mark.
When Geiman put her third ball into the cage with 18:24 to play in the first half, Messiah led by a 7-0 score and had virtually wrapped the game up.
Arcadia (4-7, 0-4) would eventually put three straight shots into the back of the Messiah net during a six-minute stretch moments later, but another two Falcon scores — from Geiman and Lawrence — quelled any hopes of a comeback.
Lawrence would go on to score twice more in the second half, while Nesterwitz finished her day with the team's final goal with just 2:31 remaining in the game.
"Kate Nesterwitz and Nikki Lawrence both had their best performances of the season today," Greer said. "Nikki went after it in a way that I have never seen from her. Her cuts could not have been timed any better and as a result found the back of the net three times. Kate did a tremendous job in the midfield for us. It was not only her first effort but her second effort that really made difference for our team. Jess VanHook shot very well and has continued to be such a soft-spoken person with a strong presence on our team. We're continuing to get better as a group, and it's fun to watch."
VanHook and Geiman each scored four times for Greer's club on the day, with Lawrence registering a season-high three goals on just four shots. Bovenzi and Nesterwitz each scored twice, while junior Brianne Brennan and sophomore Betsy Caprio led the team with four caused turnovers apiece. Caprio was responsible for five of the team's draw controls, while five others recorded three. Junior Jen Venter had a fairly uneventful day in the cage, coming up with 13 saves to just four goals allowed.
Messiah will now host three of its next four conference games, as the Falcons will face-off against Manhattanville College Saturday at Anderson Field. Game time is set for 3:45 p.m.
