GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Messiah men's lacrosse took a three goal lead into the second-half at No. 14 Gettysburg, but seven unanswered goals from the Bullets kept Messiah from pulling off the upset in a 12-9 loss. Liam Lilienthal led the Falcons with three goals, and both Joseph Franken and Hunter Bellows tallied twice. Evan Stoker collected 17 saves in cage, including 10 saves in the first two periods.
 
The loss dropped Messiah to 0-1, and they'll next play a week from today in a neutral site game against Ohio Wesleyan.
 
Promising Start
Despite falling behind 2-0 in the first three minutes of play, Messiah put together a strong start with four-straight scores of their own to go up 4-2. Four different Falcons combined in that streak and, after Gettysburg made it 4-3, Hunter Bellows scored with seconds left in the first-half to give Messiah a 5-3 at the break.
 
Bellows scored again less than two minutes into the third period to give Messiah a 6-3 lead.
 
Streak of Seven
The Bullets, ranked No. 14 in the nation, responded to their deficit in loud and stunning fashion, as they scored seven goals over the a stretch of 8:44 to turn the table. Tommy Heller, Will DeMartin, and Brian Kolen all scored twice for Gettysburg in their momentum-grabbing run.
 
Crawling Back
The Bullets' dominance of the third period put them in front, and Messiah almost did the same in the fourth. Liam Lilienthal started the strong play with a goal at the end of the third, and he scored once more at the 12:43 mark of the final period. Both teams then played scoreless for nearly eight minutes before Joseph Franken made it a one-goal game, 10-9, with just under five minutes to play.
 
On the ensuing faceoff Messiah took possession, giving them a chance to even the score.
 
Late Stumble
Less than 10 seconds after earning the faceoff, Messiah gave it right back when Cullen Minion caused a turnover by Lilienthal. Fortunately, Messiah took advantage of a Gettysburg turnover a minute later, and they again carried possession toward the Bullets' goal looking for a game-tying tally.
 
But a shot never came on that possession, as Gettysburg's Eric Carr caused a turnover by Bellows. This time the Bullets took advantage with a back-breaking goal by Heller with 2:16 to play. His shot, which came after curling around from the back of the crease, gave the hosts some breathing room.
 
Messiah's urgent attempts to regain possession resulted in a few late penalties, and Gettysburg took advantage of the man-up opportunity with just 15 seconds left.
 
In the Box
The Bullets outshot the Falcons 53-29, but Messiah was kept close by the strong play of Stoker between the pipes. His 17 saves were a fa and away a career-high after he collected a single save on four separate occasions last season.
 
Gettysburg also earned the majority of the possession thanks to a 16-8 advantage in faceoffs and 34-22 edge in groundballs. The Messiah defense did their best to keep pace by causing four turnovers and also holding the Bullets to just 2-7 on extra man opportunities.