GRANTHAM, Pa. - Another game, another top-10 opponent for Messiah women's lacrosse. On Wednesday, it was the No. 10 Catholic Cardinals that traveled to Grantham for the afternoon match-up. The Falcons hung tough in what was, for a large portion of the game, a defensive battle, before ultimately falling by a 13-6 final.
 
Jamie Bishop was the lone Falcon to score multiple goals, finishing the match with two tallies on three shots. Mckenna Edwards, Annika Johnsen, Gabbi Griffith, and Natalie Hoff also tallied goals for the Falcons.
 
Between the pipes, Amber Orner finished the game with a career-high 16 saves.
 
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Geneva, N.Y. for another ranked opponent, when they take on the No. 17 William Smith Herons at 1:00 p.m.
 
Cardinals Take an Early Lead
Catholic scored the first two goals of the contest with scores by Iszy Del Peschio and Megan Ellis in the first four minutes of the contest. A tally from Jamie Bishop at the end of the shot clock halted the early Cardinal scoring streak for a moment, but back-to-back goals from Catholics' Jess Lyons and Anna Maupin gave the visitors a 4-1 eight minutes into the game.
 
The Cardinals pushed their lead to five goals with tallies from Maupin and Ally Criscuolo spaced less than a minute a part. The goals gave the Cardinals a 6-1 lead with eight and a half minutes remaining in the half.
 
Messiah Closes the Half Strong
The Falcons battled back, scoring a pair of goals in the final six minutes of the period to pull within four at 7-3 heading into the break. Jamie Bishop was the first to tally for Messiah during the stretch, scoring off of a pass from Abbi Munson.
 
After a goal from the Cardinals' Less Lyons, Messiah notched their third goal of the match on a strong individual effort from McKenna Edwards. The tally for Edwards was her 11th of the season.
 
Early Second-Half Catholic Run
After the break, Catholic scored the first three goals of the second period. Holly Regan wasted little time getting on the board just 19 seconds into the period on an unassisted goal. After Regan's goal, the game turned into a defensive battle for the next 15 minutes. Neither team scored during the stretch, but with 14:39 remaining in the match the Cardinals broke the scoreless streak with a score from Ally Crisuolo.
 
After Crisuolo tallied her third goal of the contest with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Cardinals held their largest lead of the game at 10-3.
 
Trading Goals
After Catholic went up by seven the Falcons and Cardinals traded goals for the remainder of the game. The Falcons picked up goals from Annika Johnson, Gabi Griffith, and Natalie Hoff during the final eight minutes, but each Messiah tally was answered by a goal from the Cardinals.
 
During the final push Messiah collected assists from Joanna King and Mckenna Edwards in addition to the trio of goals.
 
The late back-and-forth play was not enough for the Falcons to pull back into the game and the Cardinals claimed the 13-6 victory.
 
Between the Pipes
As mentioned, Amber Orner finished the game with a career-high 16 saves. It is just the second time this season that she has finished a game with 10 or more saves.
 
What's Up Next
With Wednesday's 13-6 setback, the Falcons fall to 1-8 on the season and will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Geneva, N.Y. for their final non-conference match of the season against No. 17 William Smith at 1:00 p.m.