Grantham, PA - Stephanie Athens led the way for the Falcons by collecting five goals in the 17-11 victory over the No. 4 Franklin and Marshall Diplomats. No. 10 Messiah College women's lacrosse team moved to 9-2 overall after defeating F&M at home on Tuesday afternoon. The Diplomats received their third loss of the season, moving their overall record to 9-3.

Claire Stikeleather tallied three goals on just four attempts for the Falcons and Courtney Wagner also added a hat trick of her own. Ida Ehrhardt gathered two assists and two goals for Messiah and teammate Jenna Stover collected three assists. Alexa Dipeso had a solid day as keeper for the Falcons. She collected six saves for Messiah and played all 60 minutes.

Season High For Athens
Stephanie Athens who is known for her play-making ability was very successful using her speed to her advantage and beating her defender to the cage. Athens collected a season-high of five goals against Franklin and Marshall. Two of her goals came in the first half and the other three were in the second half. The last time she collected five goals was against Arcadia University in the 2016 season.

Connect Four
The Diplomats came out and scored within the first 55 seconds of play but Messiah didn't let that quick start affect their play. Following the initial goal by Franklin and Marshall, the Falcons scored four in a row. Stephanie Athens picked up her 12th goal of the season just eight seconds after the Diplomats scored, to tie the game at 1-1. Claire Stikeleather, Courtney Wagner, and Annika Johnsen each collected goals following Athens' to give Messiah the 4-1 lead with 22:57 left on the clock.

Three Turnovers = Three Goals
Messiah turned the ball over nine times in the first half and Franklin and Marshall began to take advantage of those turnovers. There were three separate occasions in which the Diplomats scored immediately following a Falcon turnover. Although Messiah did not allow the Diplomats to regain the lead they were able to come within one goal from tying the game twice (5-4, 6-5). The Falcons were able to clean up their play and regain a solid 8-5 lead going into halftime.

Rapid Fire
The Falcons came out of the break with a spark of energy. Messiah went on a three to nothing scoring run in the first six minutes of play. Ida Ehrhardt started things off for the Falcons and Allie Colson connected off an assist by Jenna Stover to extend their lead to five goals (10-5). Franklin and Marshall then went on a run of their own scoring three unanswered goals, until Stephanie Athens juked her defender and collected another goal to extend Messiah's lead to 12-8.

Solid Second Half
The Falcons had a solid final half, collecting nine of their 17 goals, outshooting the Diplomats 19-15, and only turning the ball over five times compared to their nine turnovers in the first half. Messiah was eight for eight on clears and gathered 11 ground balls. Although Franklin and Marshall dominated draw controls 18-12 throughout the entire game, Messiah's aggressive play and execution allowed for an upset over the No. 4 ranked team in the nation.

Up Next
Messiah will pick up MAC Commonwealth play on Apr. 13 when they travel to Arcadia University. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.