Grantham, PA - No. 7 Messiah women's lacrosse scored early and often against conference rival Lebanon Valley in a 15-4 win on Wednesday afternoon.
Jenna Stover led the Falcons with five goals and Messiah allowed just 14 total shots to the Dutchmen. The win pushed Messiah to 11-2 overall, and also 6-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. Lebanon Valley fell to 3-10, including an even 3-3 in the conference.
Senior Showcase
On Messiah's senior day the Falcons' veterans grabbed some spotlight. Stover tallied a game-high five goals and also collected an assist, and both
Claire Stikeleather (two assists) and
Ida Ehrhardt (three assists and game-high five groundballs) filled up the boxscore for the hosts.
Alexa Dipeso was also brilliant in the cage with four saves across 60:00 of action.
Brooke Gamble,
Kathryn Milwicz, and
Claire Griffin-- three other members of the 10-person senior class-- were instrumental in holding the Dutchmen to a season-low 14 total shots, and also season-low 10 shots on goal.
Flyaway First-Half
The Falcons scored four of the first give goals of the game, and
Audrey Liberati made it 5-2 at the 18:40 mark with a great catch and shot from atop the crease.
Annika Johnsen then tallied back-to-back goals over the next four goals to build the lead to 7-2.
Two more scores by Stover and
Elle Bargar made it five-straight goals for Messiah, with Bargar's goal trickling over the goal line after being partially blocked by goalie Hannah Oliveras. The Falcons took a 9-3 lead into the break.
Big Finish
Messiah's second-half was more of the same as they outscored Lebanon Valley 6-1 en route to the 15-4 win.
Kendra Herbenar provided a highlight goal at the 18:13 mark when they attacked down the middle to the crease, stopped on a dime, and then changed her speed and direction to dodge a defender for the open look on the cage.
As the Falcons' attack was firing, the defense also locked in. Messiah held the Dutchmen to just 6-12 on clears in the final period, and the visitors went just 8-22 overall. As mentioned, Dipeso was also terrific in allowing just four goals, and she also collected a highlight save on a free-position shot by Jones at the 21:29 mark.
Next Up
Messiah plays their final regular-season road game this Saturday when they travel to Lycoming for a game at 1:00 p.m. The Warriors are 4-1 in the conference heading into today and are in the mix for a postseason seed.
