GRANTHAM, Pa. - Five different Falcons tallied multiple goals as the No. 24 Messiah women's lacrosse team defeated the Skidmore Thoroughbreds 15-6 on Wednesday afternoon. Led by hat tricks from Hope Flack, Natalie Hoff, and Emma Lytle the Falcons ran away from Skidmore late in the first-half and then really extended their lead after the break. Messiah and Skidmore were tied 3-3 after 15 minutes of play on Wednesday, but Messiah ended the opening half on a 5-3 run to take an 8-5 lead into the break.
 
After the half, Messiah scored the first seven goals of the second half to take a 15-5 lead. With just a few minutes left the Thoroughbreds closed the gap to nine, but Messiah earned the comfortable 15-6 victory while outshooting Skidmore 30-24 in the contest. Once again, Messiah dominated the draw, earning 19 of the 23 draw controls contested.
 
Messiah is scheduled to travel to Puerto Rico for Spring Break and take on LaSell University next Tuesday, but with the recent COVID-19 outbreak, those plans may change. Stay tuned to GoMessiah.com for more information on the Falcons' upcoming schedule.
 
Back-And-Forth Beginning
The Falcons and Thoroughbreds traded goals for the first 15 minutes of Wednesday's game. Messiah tallied first with Grace Gormley and Abby Howard tallying in the first five minutes of the contest. Gormley connected off a feed from Amanda Wadsworth while Howard scored 4:30 into the contest with an unassisted tally.
 
Skidmore scored back-to-back goals to tie things up just two minutes after Howard's score.
 
After Natalie Hoff and Skidmore's Emily Hirsch both scored, the score was level at 3-3 before the Falcons began to takeover.
 
Pulling Away
Over the final 15 minutes of the opening half, Messiah began to pull away with Natalie Hoff scoring once again to give Messiah a 4-3 lead and spark a 5-2 run to end the half. During that run, both Hope Flack and Emma Lytle scored a pair of goals in addition to Hoff's second score of the game.
 
After 30 minutes of play, the Falcons held an 8-5 lead and Messiah continued to pour it on after the break. The Falcons scored the first seven goals of the second half with Amanda Wadsworth being the only Falcon to notch multiple goals during the streak. Abby Howard, Emma Lytle, Natalie Hoff, Hope Flack, and Joanna King all scored during the run as well.
 
Despite a Skidmore goal by Katie Amorosino in the final minutes, Messiah claimed a 15-6 victory to improve to 4-2 on the season.
 
A quick look at the box score showed both teams pretty even across the board except when it came to draw controls. Messiah earned 19 of the 23 draw controls in the game, including 12 of the 14 draws in the first half.
 
What's Up Next
As mentioned, Messiah's next game is a fluid situation. The Falcons were scheduled to travel to Puerto Rico for games over spring break, but the recent COVID-19 outbreak may force a change of plans. Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com for continued coverage and updated schedules for all of Messiah's athletic teams.