GRANTHAM, Pa. - The No. 20 Messiah women's lacrosse team remained undefeated with a 19-7 victory over the visiting Widener Pride on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons were led by sophomore Rachel Delate's 10 points, finishing the day with five goals and five assists. Seven other Falcons scored in the contest with Emma Lytle matching Delate with five tallies of her own.
 
Messiah took a 12-5 lead into the break before cruising to the 19-7 final. With the victory, Messiah improves to 11-0 on the season and will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Lebanon Valley to take on the Dutchmen at 6:00 p.m.
 
Early Scores
Just as they have all year, Messiah wasted no time getting on the board, scoring twice in the first minute of play. Rachel Delate scored the first, on a free-position shot, and then assisted Ehryn Groothoff on the second. She then scored the third less than two minutes later to put the Falcons up 3-0.
 
Widener responded with a 3-2 run to close the gap to three at 6-3.
 
Pulling Away
With the Pride closing the gap to just three, Messiah rattled off three goals in a one-minute stretch with Abigail Evans, Emma Lytle, and Grace Gormley each finding the twine to make it 9-3. Three more goals by the Falcons, Messiah took a 12-3 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half.
 
Rachel Delate netted a pair of goals during the run with Lytle adding the other.
 
Despite Widener scoring two in the final two minutes of the half, Messiah held a 12-5 lead at the break.
 
Sealing the Deal
Messiah came roaring out of the half with five-straight goals in the first nine minutes of the second half to take a 17-5 lead. During the run, Abby Howard was the lone Falcon to tally multiple goals with two. Emma Lytle, Hope Flack, and Rachel Delate each scored once during the burst while Delate added a pair of assists.
 
The run got the clock rolling for the remainder of the match. Widener scored the next two goals to make it a 17-7 game, but Abigail Evans and Makenzie Schnur each netted goals in the final 10 minutes to give Messiah the 19-7 final.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons remain undefeated with their 11th-straight victory to begin the season. Messiah has just two matches remaining in the season with an away contest at Lebanon Valley next Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and the regular season finale against Stevenson on Apr. 21 at home at 7:00 p.m.