GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's lacrosse team earned their third victory of the MAC Commonwealth season with a 17-7 win over the Arcadia Knights on Wednesday afternoon. Mckenna Edwards led all scorers with six tallies in the game, scoring three in each half. She also added an assist for seven total points.
 
Messiah moves to 3-1 in the conference while Arcadia falls to 1-3. Messiah is back in action on Saturday when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves at 1:00 p.m.
 
Falcons Control First-Half Pace
Mckenna Edwards started her scoring trend with two goals in the first three minutes. The tallies came just 21 seconds apart with Edwards netting an unassisted goal less than three minutes into the contest before doubling the Falcons' lead moments later on a free position attempt.
 
Messiah was held scoreless for the next 12 minutes with the Knights scoring once during the stretch to pull within one at 2-1. Despite the scoreless stretch, Messiah kept the pressure on Arcadia, firing five shots.
 
The Falcons got back on the board just past the mid-point of the opening half with a goal from Abigail Evans off a feed from Gabi Griffith. The tally came with 14:39 remaining in the half and gave Messiah a 3-1 advantage. Another goal from Evans followed three minutes later and tallies from Jamie Bishop and Mackenzie Schnur increased the Falcons' lead to 6-1 with just over five minutes remaining before the break.
 
Arcadia Run Spans Both Halves
The Knights scored with 2:10 remaining in the first-half to get back on the board with a free position goal from Hannah McAllister. The tally from McAllister started a 3-1 run for the Knights that spanned seven minutes across halftime.
 
After Edwards got the goal back for the Falcons in the final minute of the half, Messiah took a 7-2 advantage into halftime.
 
The Knights wasted little time getting on the board to begin the second half. Messiah claimed the opening draw control of the period, but Arcadia forced a turnover and on the first shot of the half, notched their third goal of the afternoon to close the gap to four at 7-3.
 
Four minutes later, Julia Imbert scored her 11th goal of the season for the Knights on a free position attempt to trim the lead to three at 7-4. That was as close as Arcadia would get in the second half as Messiah began pulling away in the remaining 20-plus minutes.
 
Messiah Pulls Away
The Falcons answered Imbert's tally with a goal from Bishop less than a minute later to begin a 10-3 Messiah run to close out the victory. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Edwards added her fourth goal of the game, building Messiah's lead to five at 9-4.
 
Following an Arcadia tally, Joanna King assisted on two-straight Messiah goals, finding Bishop on the first and Natalie Hoff on the second just 1:20 apart.
 
The Knights found the back of the cage with 10:37 remaining in the game, cutting Messiah's lead to five at 11-6. The Falcons responded swiftly with three goals in a 1:22 span. Edwards, Hoff, and Annika Johnsen tallied during the scoring burst.
 
Already leading by eight in the final minutes, the Falcons registered three more tallies in the final 3:31 of the game with goals from Evans, Edwards, and Jessie Wynne. The Knights scored one during the final push from the Falcons, but it was not enough as Messiah earned the 17-7 victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will return home on Saturday for a conference game against the Alvernia Golden Wolves on the Lacrosse Turf beginning at 1:00 p.m.