Frederick, MD – Messiah men's lacrosse grabbed an 8-2 lead in the first-half and they added on late in a 19-8 win at Hood on Wednesday afternoon. Justin Bradley led the Falcons with four goals and both Liam Lilienthal and Matthew Franken scored three goals to lead the attack.
 
The win brought Messiah within one game of .500 (3-4) and it gave them a 1-0 start in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
Bookends
Quick start and a big a finish was the recipe for Messiah's success at Hood. The Falcons scored the only three goals of the first quarter and they also outscored the Blazers 8-3 in the fourth. Additionally, this was the first game all season in which Messiah tallied multiple scores in each period played.
 
Three different Falcons – Matthew Franken, Liam Lilienthal, and Dylan Gillisse—tallied in the opening frame, and five different Falcons tallied in the fourth. In that final period three players—Blake Knobloch, Justin Bradley, and Garrett Amsbaugh—tallied twice.
 
Shots and More Shots
The Falcons attempted 40-plus shots for the fifth time in seven games, and they also set a season-high with 32 shots on goal. While they were building their 8-2 halftime lead they attempted almost as many shots on cage (16) that Hood would have for the entire game (19).
 
The Falcons' steady and overwhelming looks at the cage were helped along by a 16-15 edge faceoffs, but their 13 caused turnovers undoubtedly had as much—if not more—to do with their hold on possession. Drew Gugliuzza led the team with a game-high three caused turnovers, and three others had two of their own. '
 
Up Next
Messiah continues conference play this weekend when they host Albright at 1:00 p.m. The Lions opened up conference play today with a win of their own, 12-11 over Lycoming.