GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 24 Messiah women's lacrosse team earned their fourth-straight victory by double-digits, running past DeSales on a rainy Wednesday afternoon by a 18-2 final score. Messiah netted goals from 10 different players while Rachel Delate's seven points led the way for the Falcons.
 
Messiah held a 13-1 lead at the break and, with the clock running for the entirety of the second half, was able to expand their lead to the final score of 18-2.
 
In addition to Delate's four goals, Abby Howard netted three tallies while Mackenzie Schnur, Hope Flack, and Katie Heck each scored a pair.
 
Messiah controlled the game in nearly every statistical category, including shots (40-9), ground balls (29-13), draw controls (16-6), and caused turnovers (9-5).
 
Messiah moves to 4-0 on the season. They will be back in action on Saturday when they hose the Alvernia Golden Wolves at 1:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf.
 
Jumping on Top Early
Just as they have in every game this season, Messiah jumped out to a quick lead with four tallies in the first six minutes of play. Rachel Delate and Abby Howard split the goal scoring duties in the opening minutes with two tallies each.
 
After a Bulldog goal by Eilis McCall with exactly 21 minutes remaining in the half, Messiah rattled off nine more scores prior to the break. A tally by Emma Lytle with 8:57 remaining in the half put the Falcons up double-digits and allowed the clock to run for the remainder of the contest.
 
In total, seven different Falcons netted scores in the first half with Delate and Howard leading the team with three goals each. Hope Flack and Makenzie Schnur each scored two in the opening 30 minutes.
 
Messiah headed to the half, leading the Bulldogs 13-1.
 
Cruising to Another Big Win
While the clock ran for the entirety of the second half, Messiah was able to put five more scores on the board thanks to tallies from Ehryn Groothoff, Amanda Wadsworth, Delate, Katie Heck, and the first career tally by AbbyEllen Wood.
 
DeSales did score midway through the period as Messiah went on for the 18-2 victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action with a MAC Commonwealth contest against the Alvernia Golden Wolves on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The Golden Wolves are 1-1 with a big 19-5 victory over Delaware Valley and a 21-5 defeat against Stevenson.