Grantham, PA – No. 13 Messiah College scored the game's first 10 goals and never looked back in a 16-3 win over Susquehanna University on Wednesday afternoon. Courtney Wagner tallied four times to lead nine different scorers and Alexa Dipeso collected seven saves in just 30 minutes of work.
 
Messiah improved to 4-2 with the win and will next play on Thursday, Mar. 24 when they travel to The College of New Jersey. That game will start at 7:00 p.m.
 
On this sunny afternoon at Messiah the Falcons came out and immediately took control. Audrey Liberati collected the first draw control and a few seconds later Courtney Wager tallied the first goal with 29:41 on the clock. That pattern continued as Messiah grabbed the first three draw controls and three goals in a span of 2:34 to open the game. Shayna Delaney scored each the second and third goal for Messiah as they were on their way to a 10-run to open the game.
 
Susquehanna's first shot came at the 13:51 mark from Annie McElaney, and Dipeso grabbed the save to keep the shutout. The Crusaders finally got on the board with 9:24 left in the first-half as Becky McHugh tallied for the sixth time this season.
 
Messiah took their 10-1 lead into the break, with a noticeable 10-2 advantage in draw controls. That hard work in the midfield contributed to long stretches of possession, especially early on as they were building their commanding lead. Wagner, Delaney, and Liz Brennan each tallied multiple times in the first 30 minutes, with Brennan scoring three times. As mentioned, Dipeso also finished the first-half with seven saves and was replaced by Ellery Klineyoung for the final period.
 
In the second-half Wagner tallied twice more and, with Eliza Lortie's goal at the 17:16 mark, Messiah built their lead to 15-1.
 
Jamie Bishop capped the scoring with a transition goal in the final minute to make it 16-3.
 
Ida Ehrhardt's game-high four draw controls helped Messiah finish with a 14-6 edge in the statistic, and four different Falcons—Stephanie Athens, Kathryn Milwicz, Brooke Gamble, and Kelsey Russell—led the way with a team-high three groundballs apiece.
 
Though Messiah did have some stretches of sloppy play, which left them with 15 turnovers, they were successful on 15-17 clears.
 
McHugh finished with all three goals for the Crusaders while Carolyn Figliola and Alyssa Rothman each grabbed four saves.