GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's lacrosse team suffered a 16-6 defeat at the hands on the No. 10 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the end of the first half, but Messiah hung tough in the second half, limiting the Diplomats' offense to six goals after the break while scoring four of their own.
 
Messiah's offense was paced by three goals from McKenna Edwards. Abby Howard, Annika Johnsen, and Joanna King each scored one tally in the contest.
 
The Diplomats improve to 2-1 on the season after playing their third team ranked in the preseason coaches' poll. Messiah moves to 0-4 and will be back on the field next Saturday when they host the University of Mary Washington at 2:00 p.m.
 
Diplomats Take Control
Franklin & Marshall scored seven-straight goals to start Saturday's contest with five different Diplomats finding the back of the net during the run. Both Maddie Hughes and Ally Marino scored multiple goals during the first 14:15 of the game.
 
Joanna King scored her first goal as a Falcon to break the Diplomats' streak with 10:32 remaining in the half off a feed from McKenna Edwards. King took the pass from the left-side of the cage and battled through traffic to put Messiah on the board.
 
Following King's tally, the Diplomats scored three more goals to take a 10-1 advantage with under a minute remaining in the first-half.
 
Consecutive Messiah Goals
With just seconds remaining in the opening period, Annika Johnsen scored her fifth goal of the season to make it a 10-2 game heading to the break.
 
In addition to scoring the final goal of the first half, Messiah netted the opening goal in the second-half when Mckenna Edwards scored just over six minutes into the half off a pass from Katelyn Pearson.
 
Franklin & Marshall Second-Half Push
After conceding back-to-back goals to the Falcons, the Diplomats responded with a 5-1 run to take a double-digit lead at 15-4. During the push, five different players scored for Franklin & Marshall.
 
Consecutive goals from Mckenna Edwards just 90 seconds apart stopped the push from the Diplomats and gave Edwards a hat trick in the game. She becomes the second Falcon this season with a hat trick after Amanda Wadsworth netted three goals against Dickinson earlier this week.
 
The Diplomats' Ally Marino scored her fourth goal of the game to cap off the scoring and give Franklin & Marshall the 16-6 victory.
 
In the Box Score
Messiah outshot the Diplomats in the second-half, with 11 attempts for the Falcons against 10 for Franklin & Marshall. Messiah made a number of halftime adjustments and took care of the ball much better in the second-half. In the final 30 minutes, Messiah committed just two turnovers, while forcing eight by the Diplomats.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will have a full week before their next contest when they host the University of Mary Washington Saturday, Mar. 9 at 2:00 p.m. Messiah owns a 3-1 overall record against the Eagles in program history, but Mary Washington edged the Falcons last season with a 14-10 decision on Mar. 24, 2018.