GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's lacrosse team suffered an 11-9 defeat against the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Saturday afternoon. The Dutchmen took a commanding 9-1 lead early in the second half, but the Falcons began chipping away at the lead, thanks in large part to a four-goal run in the middle of the third quarter.
 
Lebanon Valley led 10-5 heading into the fourth quarter and despite the Falcons outscoring the Dutchmen 4-1 in the quarter, Messiah was unable to rally back for the victory, falling 11-9 on the afternoon.
 
It was a team effort for the Falcons offensively, with 11 different Falcons registering points on the day. Josh McFadden, Ben Sheker, and Seth Libby each netted two goals to lead the scoring effort for Messiah.
 
The Falcons actually outshot the Dutchmen 45-36 in the contest, but the Dutchmen recorded 15 saves against Messiah's 11.
 
The Falcons fall to 3-6 overall and 0-5 in the MAC Commonwealth with the loss and will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Widener for a 7:00 p.m. game.
 
Dutchmen Control Opening Half
The first 30 minutes of action on Saturday afternoon belonged to the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen. Despite, Messiah holding a 23-21 advantage in shots, the Dutchmen found the twine eight times in the first two quarters against just one for the Falcons.
 
Lebanon Valley scored three times in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead into the second period. The Dutchmen also scored the first tally of the second to open up a 4-0 lead before Messiah could get on the board. Seth Libby netted the first score for the Falcons with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, but Lebanon Valley scored four unanswered tallies to wrap up the first-half with an 8-1 lead.
 
Falcons Rally Late
After a scoreless first five minutes of the second half, Kyle Golden extended Lebanon Valley's lead to 9-1 with 9:38 remaining in the third, but Ben Sheker's first career score got the momentum on the Falcons' side. Nate Jaloszynski found Sheker for the score with 8:42 left in the third quarter to start a 4-0 Messiah run in the middle of the third.
 
The 4-0 Messiah run lasted just over four minutes and closed the gap to 9-5 in favor of the Dutchmen. Josh McFadden and Dan Gillmeister netted the second and third goals of the streak, while Sheker added his second career tally to cap off the rally.
 
A tally by the Dutchmen ended the third quarter with the Falcons down 10-5 with just 15 minutes left. Owen Joyce was first on the board in the fourth, but the Dutchmen responded with just over five minutes remaining in regulation to make it an 11-6 game.
 
Messiah did not go down without a fight. Nate Jaloszynski, Josh McFadden, and Seth Libby all netted scores in the final two-and-a-half minutes as the Falcons made a last-ditch effort. Unfortunately, the final push was not enough as the Dutchmen held off the Falcons' charge and claimed the 11-9 victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the setback, Messiah falls to 3-6 overall and 0-5 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons have just two regular season contests remaining. The next is an away contest against Widener on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The regular season finale will get underway on Saturday, Apr. 24 at Stevenson at 7:00 p.m.