GRANTHAM, Pa. - The 2019 Messiah men's lacrosse season came to a close on Wednesday night in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals as the Falcons dropped a hard-fought 15-12 game against the Lycoming Warriors. Dylan Gillisse led the Falcons' offense with four goals on the evening while Cory Hurst and Joseph Franken each notched three.

For the Warriors, Andrew Ream registered seven goals while picking up two assists to lead Lycoming to their first Conference Championship appearance since the 2002 season. The Warriors will be taking on the top-seeded Stevenson Mustangs on Saturday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m. for a chance to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Messiah finished the season with an overall record of 9-8 and a 6-2 mark in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
Testing Each Other Early
The contest began with the Warriors striking first with 11:16 left in the period off the stick of Ream. Franken put the Falcons on the board nearly three and a half minutes later with his 47th tally of the year. Messiah and Lycoming then went back-and-forth, with each team scoring two goals. Following Franken's second goal of the night, the game was tied 3-3 with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

With just 41 seconds left on the clock, Gillisse broke the tie game and gave the Falcons a 4-3 lead heading into the second quarter.

Lycoming Controls Second Quarter
After the Falcons scored the first goal of the second quarter off a Cory Hurst shot to take a 5-3 lead, the Warriors controlled the remainder of the period. An impressive over-the-shoulder, no-look goal from Dominick Massaro started a 6-2 run for the Warriors to end the first half. During the run, all six Warriors' goals were scored by different players.

Messiah tallied a pair of goals during the Warriors' run with unassisted tallies by Dylan Gillisse and Joseph Franken in the final five minutes of the period. Franken's 49th goal of the season tied the game at 7-7 with 2:06 remaining in the period, but scores by the Warriors' Owen Zimmerman and Ream in the final 45 seconds of the half pushed Lycoming in front 9-7 at the break.

After taking a two-goal lead at the half, Lycoming continued their scoring ways with three-straight goals to begin the third quarter. The Warriors held the Falcons scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the half with Ream scoring twice and Massaro finishing one during the stretch.

Falcons Take Momentum Back
After being held scoreless to begin the period, Messiah got on the board with 4:52 remaining in the quarter as Liam Lilienthal found Garrett Amsbaugh for the tally. That score brought Messiah within four at 12-8.

After Ream connected for his seventh goal of the game, Messiah rattled off the next three goals with Cory Hurst, Dylan Gillisse, and Hunter Bellows all finding the back of the cage over the next eight minutes to cut the Warriors' lead to two at 13-11.

Warriors Close Out the Victory
The Warriors ended the Falcons' hopes for a comeback with two quick goals from Connor Riorden just seven seconds apart in the final four minutes. The tallies extended the Lycoming lead to 15-11.
 
Gillisse scored with 2:49 remaining in regulation for the final goal of the contest, wrapping up the senior's career.