GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Messiah men's lacrosse team dropped their season-opener on the road at No. 10 Gettysburg College Saturday afternoon, 16-10. The Falcons took a 9-8 lead at the halftime break before it was 10-10 after the third quarter, but the Bullets exploded for six goals in the fourth quarter to pick up the win.

The Falcons were led by Garrett Amsbaugh and Hunter Bellows, who both scored three goals in the contest while Mitch Salanty added a pair of tallies for Messiah. They will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to DeSales University for a 1:00 p.m. showdown.

Early Offense For Both Teams
At the start of the game, the Bullets committed a quick turnover, but they got the ball right back and rushed down the field and scored in the first 30 seconds of the contest. The goal came from Jack Fletcher and made it 1-0 when about a minute later, Brian Kolen scored to quickly make it 2-0 Bullets.

After a few early shot opportunities were off the mark for the Falcons, senior Mitch Salanty got Messiah on the board with a beautiful goal from about 15 yards out, zipping it past the Bullet goalie and making it 2-1 less than five minutes into the contest. The Falcons tied it up off a goal by Hunter Bellows after he made his move to the goal and found the net to make it 2-2 with 9:36 left in the first quarter.

The Bullets made it 3-2 before Bellows put another one in the goal, finding the top left corner from around 10 yards out to tie it 3-3. It didn't take long for Cory Hurst to find the goal for the first time this season, making it 4-3 Messiah, which was the score after the first quarter.

Amsbaugh Scores Three In Second
Gettysburg tied it 4-4 at the start of the second quarter. Garrett Amsbaugh then got in on the scoring action after a Brandon Witmer assist allowed him to make a move around his defender and make it 5-4 Falcons early in the second quarter. The goals just kept coming for Messiah early on as Amsbaugh scored again after the Bullets tallied one to make it 6-5 Messiah with 9:16 remaining in the half.

The Bullets made it 6-6 before a Gettysburg penalty gave the Falcons a man-up opportunity. They took advantage, working it around the goal before Sam Stone found a streaking Amsbaugh, who did the rest to score his third consecutive goal for Messiah in the quarter and make it 7-6. A Salanty goal briefly made it 8-6 before the Bullets made it 8-7. Both teams tallied one more goal to make it 9-8 Messiah at halftime.

Bullets Get Past Falcons
The Bullets tied it up early in the third quarter before Brandon Witmer made a move to his left and found the top right side of the goal from about five yards out to make it 10-9 Falcons. A Bullets goal made it 10-10 with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter. The game headed into the fourth quarter tied at 10-10.

The Bullets took over in the fourth quarter with six goals to win the game 16-10.

What's Up Next
The loss drops Messiah to 0-1 on the season as they will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to DeSales University for a 1:00 p.m. matchup.