Chester, PA - The rains came down and the goals went up for Messiah men's lacrosse on Wednesday, as they used a 6-1 third quarter advantage to support a 12-8 win on the road. The decision moved the Falcons to 7-0 in the MAC Commonwealth, tied with Stevenson atop the standings while guaranteeing the Falcons a top-two seed in next week's MAC Commonwealth Tournament.

Messiah and Stevenson will play each other on Saturday night when the Falcons host the Mustangs in the regular-season finale at 7:00 p.m.

Trading Blows
Widener scored the first goal of the game off the stick of Paz Gismondi at the 13:54 mark, but Messiah answered with back-to-back goals from Justin Bradley and Matthew Franken. The Falcons held that 2-1 lead for nearly four minutes before Widener scored three-straight goals to end the first quarter. The Pride led 4-2 entering the second, and Messiah responded once again with two-straight tallies to tie the game.
 
The final goal of the first half was scored by Brady Franks at the 8:50 mark, as he took feed from Tyler Schulte and fired through for a 5-4 lead.
 
Third Quarter Showcase
The Falcons made quick work of their one-goal deficit by scoring three times in the first 4:39 of the third quarter. Joseph Franken scored the game-tying goal less than a minute after play resumed, and he made it 7-5 minutes later.
 
Tyler Schulte notched Widener's only goal of the period at the 9:47 mark to make it 7-6, but Messiah got tallies from three different players—Bradley, Franken, and Hunter Bellows—to take a 10-6 lead into the final period.
 
Messiah's third quarter grab of the game included not just that 6-1 edge in goals, but also a 5-6 showing in clears (0-3 for Widener) and 10-4 edge in shots on goal. Widener also turned the ball over seven times in the frame which kept them from capitalizing on their own 7-0 advantage in faceoffs.
 
In the Box
Brian Doron picked up a team-high five groundballs, two shy of his season-high against Arcadia earlier this month. Seven different players also collected at least one caused turnover in a sloppy game in which the rain surely played a factor; Messiah committed 19 turnovers as team—their second-most this season—while Widener turned it over 23 times; this marked the third time Widener turned it over 23 times in a game, and they've given it away 24 times in three others games this season.
 
As mentioned, Joseph Franken led Messiah with four goals, and Justin Bradley added three tallies of his own. Liam Lilienthal scored twice.
 
Up Next
Messiah and Stevenson will match-up on the Falcons' home turf on Saturday night in a battle of the two remaining undefeated teams in the MAC Commonwealth. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. and the winner will play as the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament; Saturday's loser will be the No. 2 seed in the postseason.