Box Score
Elizabethtown, PA — Thursday afternoon at MAC Conference rival Elizabethtown College, the Messiah College women's lacrosse team stayed in the game early thanks to its defense.
A season-high 31 turnovers would eventually doom the squad in the end.
Messiah (7-6, 4-2) saw its three-game league winning streak come to an end at E'Town's home field, committing 18 second-half turnovers in watching a 5-4 halftime deficit increase to a final 14-7 score. After staying neck-and-neck with the Blue Jays through the first 30-plus minutes of play, the hosts were able to out-shoot Messiah by a 23 to eight count in the second period, eventually moving on to double-up the Falcons.
The loss was key in the MAC standings, as Elizabethtown (8-4, 5-1) moved a full game ahead of Messiah with the result.
That fact didn't deter Falcons' head coach Heather Greer from complimenting the squad's first-half performance, however, as the team's six first-period draw controls and nine ground balls proved it belonged with the top teams in the MAC, according to the first-year leader.
"We started out today with amazing defense, some of the best team and individual defense I have seen from this group all year," Greer said. "We wanted to stop E'Town's crease roll and we did. We wanted to break up their feeds from behind and we did. It was a great half for us."
Senior Kirstyn Wheeler was again key to those efforts, picking up a team-leading three ground balls while causing three turnovers. Junior Brianne Brennan complemented those numbers with three ground balls of her own, causing one turnover as well.
As E'Town raced off to a 3-1 lead in the game's first 17 minutes, freshman Megan Bovenzi and sophomore Nikki Lawrence pulled the team within a 4-3 margin, with goals coming off Wheeler and senior Bethany Moskevitz assists. Following another Blue Jays' goal to make it a 5-3 difference, Greer's club responded a beautiful goal from junior Jackie Dando at the 3:22 mark, coming off an assist from Bovenzi.
With momentum firmly on its side, senior Jessica Van Hook scored an unassisted goal just 53 seconds into the second half, tying the game at 5-5 and putting things for grabs.
It would be Elizabethtown that would claim it.
Six straight scores from the Blue Jays encompassed the contest's next 13 and a half minutes of play, as Greer's club began to have ball control issues. Messiah committed 18 turnovers in the final period of play — a season high for a single period — while only Geiman (off an assist from sophomore Betsy Caprio at the 11:50 mark) and Brennan (unassisted, 10:21) would account for the team's second half scores following VanHook's early game-tying tally.
Messiah attempted just eight second-half shots — another single period season low — as E'Town registered 23 attempts.
"The second half was a different story for us," Greer said. "We couldn't hold onto the ball and kept turning it over time and time again. Our feet were planted and they were reading our passes, which resulted in some easy turnovers. You can't win a game, especially against a team like E'Town, with 31 turnovers."
Junior Jen Venter finished with 16 saves in a complete game in goal, including what Greer called "a phenomenal first half." Geiman was Messiah's only multiple-goal scorer, charting two in five shots.
Messiah will not have to wait long for yet another chance in MAC play, as Wilkes University will visit Anderson Field Saturday. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
