GRANTHAM, Pa. – The top-seeded Messiah women's lacrosse team advanced to the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals with a convincing 22-8 victory over the eighth-seeded Alvernia Golden Wolves on Tuesday afternoon. The Falcons wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, netting the first tally of the game just 12 seconds into the contest with Rachel Delate finding Ehryn Groothoff for the 1-0 lead.
 
The Golden Wolves countered less than a minute later to tie the score at 1-1, but Messiah netted the next two, and six of the next seven to build a 7-2 lead. The Falcons would hold a 10-goal lead at the half before netting seven scores in the second half for the 22-8 victory.
 
Rachel Delate led the Falcons with nine points on four goals and five assists while Emma Lytle (four goals), Amanda Wadsworth (three goals), Hope Flack (two goals, one assist), and Grace Gormley (three goals) all finished with at least three points.
 
The opening draw control on Thursday is slated for 5:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf as Messiah hosts Stevenson with a trip to the MAC Commonwealth Championship on Saturday on the line.
 
Quick Start For Both Sides
As mentioned, Messiah scored 12 seconds into the game before the Golden Wolves answered less than a minute later to make it 1-1. The score would be 3-2 after nearly five minutes of play before the Falcons began to increase their lead. Four different Falcons scored the next four goals to stretch their lead to 7-2 with 17:34 to play.

Pulling Away
Messiah would outscore the Golden Wolves 8-3 over the remainder of the first half to send the game into the break with the Falcons leading 15-5. Messiah kept their run going into the second half as five different Falcons scored to cap off their 9-0 run and make the score 20-5 with 14:05 remaining in the contest.

Riley Latshaw and Paige Megargee both tallied goals at the end of the game, as Messiah came away with a 22-8 victory.

Inside The Box Score
The Falcons continue to get production from several different players, as 10 Falcons scored at least one goal and 11 recorded at least one point. Rachel Delate's incredible season continued Tuesday night, as her four goals and five assists give her 47 goals and 47 assists this season. Her first assist in the game to Ehryn Groothoff broke the program record for assists in a season that was held by Gabrielle Hamelryck since 2013. 

What's Up Next
As mentioned, the Falcons will host the MAC Commonwealth semifinals Thursday afternoon against Stevenson University at 5:00 p.m.