GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's lacrosse team dropped their home opener 18-11 to Stockton University Wednesday night. Messiah jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Ospreys stormed back with a 3-0 run to end the quarter up 3-2. They exploded for seven goals in the second quarter against just four for the Falcons to take a 10-6 lead into the break.

The Falcons briefly cut the lead to two at 10-8 after picking up the first two goals in the third quarter, but the Ospreys sealed the deal with a 7-1 run to come away with the 18-11 win. Brandon Witmer and Garrett Amsbaugh led Messiah with three goals, with Amsbaugh recording his third consecutive hat trick to start the season. Liam Lilienthal also had two goals for Messiah.

After the loss, Messiah drops to 0-3 on the season and will be back in action next Wednesday when they host the Elizabethtown Blue Jays in Grantham with game time at 7:00 p.m.

Quick Strikes
As mentioned, Messiah took a quick two goal lead in the first quarter, with two unassisted strikes coming from Garrett Amsbaugh to take a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest.

Stockton Comes Back
The Ospreys did not take long to find their way back in the game. They used goals from Peter Burke and Dante Poli in just over a minute to tie the game before taking the lead late in the first quarter with a Luc Swedlund goal to make it 3-2.

Face-offs proved to be the difference in the second quarter, with the Ospreys winning nine to just two for the Falcons to help dominate the time of possession. They jumped ahead 9-6 before beating the buzzer on an Eric D'Arminio goal that just snuck its way into the cage at the end of the period to give Stockton a 10-6 lead at halftime.

Ospreys Pull Away
Unassisted goals from Brandon Witmer and Liam Lilienthal cut the lead to 10-8 at the start of the second half. Stockton then answered with four goals from four different players to end the third quarter and head into the final period with a 14-9 lead.

Stockton added four goals in the final period to come away with the 18-11 win. As mentioned, Garrett Amsbaugh and Brandon Witmer came away with three goals while Liam Lilienthal scored two in his second straight contest. Freshman RJ Mellor also netted his first career goal as a Falcon late in the fourth quarter.

What's Up Next
As mentioned, Messiah falls to 0-3 on the season after the setback, and will be back in action next Wednesday when they face off with the visiting Elizabethtown College Blue Jays at 7:00 p.m.