Gettysburg, PA – Messiah College battled with No. 6 Gettysburg College on Saturday but could not overcome an early deficit in a 13-8 loss on the road. The Falcons trailed by just three goals late, but two tallies in the final minutes sealed the win for the Bullets.
 
The Falcons were unable to generate consistent offense throughout the afternoon and finished with just 14 shots. Still, they kept pace with Bullets, mainly due to the determined showing of goalie Alexa Dipeso. Dipeso made 13 saves on the afternoon, eight of which, impressively, came on free position shots by Gettysburg.
 
With Dipeso's gritty effort spurning them on, the Falcons worked to chip away all afternoon. They trailed 6-2 with 5:21 left in the first-half before Sam Babbitt assisted goals by both Madi Brunk and Stephanie Athens before the intermission. Despite also allowing one more goal to Gettysburg, Messiah was down just 7-4.
 
At the start of the second-half Messiah again scored two-of-three, giving them a 4-2 run over a stretch of 10:41 to come within 8-6. Athens scored the last of those goals and finished with a team-high three tallies for the Falcons.
 
Despite seeing their lead cut to just two goals, Gettysburg did not wilt. They scored two-straight to push their advantage to 10-6 with 17:35 to play. Katie Landry scored the first and assisted on the second to bolster the lead.
 
Jenna Stover's unassisted tally with exactly 6:00 to play brought Messiah to within 11-8, but Gettysburg rode out the increased pressure by the Falcons for the win.
 
Landy finished with a game-high four goals and she added two assists. Maggie Connolly and Mandy Buell each scored three times for the Bullets.
 
Stover tallied twice to back-up Athens' three goals, but no other Falcons were able to tally more than a single time. Babbitt (2), Carly Bajus, Brunk, and Claire Stikeleather added assists.
 
As mentioned, Messiah generated just 14 shots while Gettysburg launched 34 of their own. The Bullets nearly doubled the Falcons in groundballs (25-13) while committing less than half as many turnovers (12-26) as their guests. Messiah did earn 12 draw controls to the Bullets' 10, but their 12 second-half turnovers frustrated their attempt at a comeback.
 
Messiah also managed just five clears in 11 second-half attempts, an uncommon statistic for the Falcons.
 
Gettysburg improved to 2-0 with the win while Messiah fell to an even 1-1. The Falcons will next play on Wednesday, Mar. 4 when they travel to Dickinson College. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.