ANNVILLE, Pa. - The Messiah women's lacrosse team drops a 16-12 decision in the semifinals of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament on Wednesday, ending an impressive streak of four-straight Conference Championships. Lebanon Valley took an 8-5 lead at the end of the first half and held a 15-9 lead midway through the second half. Messiah rattled off three-straight goals to pull within three at 15-12, but Kelley Makenzie capped off the victory for the Dutchmen with a tally in the final minute for the 16-12 final.
 
Abby Howard led the Falcons with four goals in the contest.
 
Messiah caps off the 2019 season with an overall record of 6-12 and a 6-2 mark in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
Lebanon Valley moves on to play the top-seeded Stevenson Mustangs in the MAC Commonwealth Championship at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in Owings Mills, Md.
 
New Game, Same Start
The Falcons and Dutchmen were playing their second-straight game on Wednesday after the two squared off in the regular season finale this past Saturday. Just like Saturday's game, Messiah and Lebanon Valley opened the contest by trading the first four goals of the game to level the game at 2-2.
 
The Dutchmen started the scoring with a pair of goals in the first three-plus minutes at the beginning of the contest. The Falcons countered with an unassisted tally from Jessie Wynne and a free-position goal from Abby Howard. The consecutive Messiah scores made it a 2-2 game just 6:33 into the contest.
 
Back-And-Forth Battle
The Falcons and Dutchmen then traded blows for the next 10 minutes with Lebanon Valley striking first for two scores to open up a 4-2 lead. Messiah countered with a tally from Amanda Wadsworth with 16:08 remaining in the period to pull the Falcons within one at 4-3.
 
Julia Gabriel scored for the Dutchmen before Joanna King found Mckenna Edwards for the response less than 45 seconds later. The Dutchmen goal and quick Messiah answer kept it a one-goal game at 5-4 with 13:38 remaining in the half.
 
Dutchmen Creep Away
Lebanon Valley opened up a four-goal lead with three-straight scores in a span of two-and-half minutes. The run was capped off with an unassisted goal by Veronica Venezia with 6:01 remaining in the half. Katelyn Pearson kept the Falcons within striking distance, scoring her 13th tally of the season just nine seconds before the break. Pearson's tally pulled Messiah within three at 8-5 at the half.
 
Two-straight Lebanon Valley goals in the first two and a half minutes of the second half gave the Dutchmen a 10-5 lead, but once again the Falcons kept in contact with goals from Annika Johnsen and Abby Howard just 18 seconds apart made it a three-goal lead at 10-7.
 
Three more scores by the Dutchmen created some separation, building the Lebanon Valley lead to a half dozen at 13-7. In total, the three mini runs by the Dutchmen combined for an 8-3 run that spanned the middle 15:50 of the contest.
 
Messiah Fights Back
Midway through the second half, Lebanon Valley still held their six-goal lead at 15-9, but with under eight minutes remaining the Falcons began chipping away. Two goals from Abby Howard brought Messiah within four at 15-11 and Jamie Bishop scored to make it a three-goal game with 3:17 to play. The comeback would fall short as the Dutchmen scored the final goal of the game in the final minute of play, earning the 16-12 victory.
 
In the Box Score
As far as team stats, there were only a few stats that were tilted in one direction. Messiah held an 8-1 advantage in free-position shots while the Dutchmen controlled the draw, winning 19 of the 30 contested in the game. Other stats were relatively even, with Lebanon Valley holding a 35-28 lead in shots and a 10-9 advantage in saves. The Falcons and Dutchmen each picked up 13 groundballs.
 
Individually, Abby Howard led the Falcons with four goals, while Jamie Bishop and Amanda Wadsworth each finished the night with two to lead the Falcons' offense. For the Dutchmen, Brittany Hathaway led all scorers with four goals and added two assists. Veronica Venezia also earned six points with three goals and three assists.