Box Score
Grantham, PA -
Lizzy Keeney scored four goals and collected two assists to pace nine different Messiah scorers on Saturday in the Falcons' 18-4 win over Alvernia University. The win moved Messiah to 7-1 in the Commonwealth Conference and solidified their spot as the No. 2 seed in next week's conference tournament. The Falcons will host No. 3-seed Elizabethtown College on Thursday, May 2.
The Falcons entered Saturday's game ranked No. 18 in the most recent IWLCA Top-20 poll and looked dominant from the start.
Cecilia Kjellman celebrated senior day for the Falcons by scoring the game's first goals, with just 27 seconds separating her tallies at the 24:42 and 24:15 marks of the first-half. After Alvernia's Candace Knight brought the Crusaders to within 2-1 the Falcons scored three more times to go ahead 5-2.
Kjellman added her third goal at the end of that 3-0 run.
The Falcons were up 5-2 midway through the frame and then blew the game open, scoring seven unanswered goals to take a 12-2 lead. Altogether they scored 10 of the final 11 goals of the half en route to a 15-3 halftime lead. Keeney tallied three goals and assisted on another before the break as Messiah fired 21 shots and grabbed 16 groundballs through the first 30 minutes.
Keeney kept the Falcons' offense going in the second-half with another tally and assist as Messiah dominated possession and ran the clock down to the final horn.
Keeney's performance marked the fifth time this season that she has tallied at least four times in a game, and the seventh time she's collected at least six points.
Gabrielle Hamelryck also stood out in her role as facilitator for the Falcons, collecting four assists to push her season total to 38 and draw within three helpers of the
program's single-season record.
Marybeth Bindel and Kjellman each finished with three goals, with Bindel's output representing a career-high.
Amanda Wivell scored her first career goal late in the second-half, contributing to Messiah's season-high's in goals (18) and total points (28). The Falcons also tied for a season-high with 33 groundballs.
With the loss, Alvernia falls to 6-8-1 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
As mentioned, Messiah (10-6, 7-1) will now look forward to hosting Elizbethtown College in the Commonwealth Championships Semifinals on Thursday of next week. Game time will be at 4:00 p.m. and will be a rematch of the Falcons'
thrilling 9-8 overtime win over the Blue Jays on the road. Stevenson will host Lebanon Valley in the other conference semifinal.
