Ewing, NJ - No. 12 Messiah College scored first and played close with No. 4 TCNJ, but in the end the Lions' firepower proved too much to handle in a 13-6 win over the visiting Falcons. Stephanie Athens led Messiah with three goals.

The Falcons trailed at the half 7-4 before TCNJ exploded to score the first six goals of the second frame and go up 13-4. Messiah's only two tallies of the second-half came with less than five minutes to play, and both of them came on free-position shots.

Mia Blackman and Emily Kratz each tallied three times for the Lions, and Elizabeth Morrison caused seven turnovers as TCNJ frustrated the Messiah attack throughout the game. Messiah ended with 22 turnovers as a team, with 11 in each half. The defensive effort by the Lions also limited Messiah to just nine total shots on frame. Miranda Chrone made three saves for the Lions.

Alexa Dipeso made five saves for the Falcons, but they all came in the first-half. Messiah's defense had much to do with that as they limited the Lions' looks to the tune of just seven shots allowed in the final 30 minutes.

The second-half performance by TCNJ overshadowed a strong opening by Messiah. Courtney Wagner tallied for the game's first goal and, after three-straight scores by the Lions, Athens tallied her first goal to make it 3-2 with 23:03 on the clock. Athens tallied twice more before halftime, with her third goal making 7-4 with 38 seconds to play.

The loss dropped Messiah to 4-3, with each of their three losses coming to teams currently ranked in the top eight of the IWLCA Top 20 poll.

The Falcons will return to action on Thursday, Mar. 31 when they host Dickinson College at 4:00 p.m.