GRANTAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's lacrosse team fell at home on Saturday afternoon, losing to Elizabethtown College, 15-7. Nate Branson and RJ Mellor each tallied two goals for the Falcons as Corum McCuller, Owen Joyce, and Sam Stone each added goals.
 
The loss drops Messiah's overall record to 3-4 on the season.
 
Despite the loss, junior McCuller recorded his first-career goals for the Falcons in the fourth quarter as Messiah goalkeeper Josh Grove registered a career-high 15 saves.
 
The first quarter was hard fought between the two sides as the Blue Jays outscored Messiah in the period, 4-2. Branson had a big quarter for the Falcons, tallying both goals as RJ Mellor received credit for the assist on the first goal.
 
The clear difference in the opening quarter of play was the faceoff battle as Elizabethtown's Danny Gilbert converted all seven faceoff opportunities. The Blue Jays outshot the Falcons, 15-6, as Owen Yake notched two goals while Micah Ballew and Colin Cummings each added tallies. Grove recorded three saves in the cage during the first quarter.
 
The opening five minutes of the second quarter were a stalemate between the two sides until Joyce scored his tenth goal of the season at the 9:13 mark, trimming Messiah's deficit to just one goal (4-3). The Blue Jays answered promptly as Yake completed his hat trick just one minute later to restore the Elizabethtown lead to two goals, 5-3.
 
Elizabethtown ended the half on a 4-1 scoring spurt to take an 9-4 advantage into halftime. Mellor provided the additional goal for Messiah, the sophomore's team-leading 13th goal of the season. The Blue Jays concluded the half with four unanswered goals in the final four minutes of action as the visitors more than doubled Messiah's total shots (30-12). At the half, the Falcons trailed, 9-4.
 
In the half, Grove recorded eight saves, just three saves shy of his season-high mark (11).
 
Elizabethtown dominated the third quarter, scoring four goals to increase its lead to 13-4 entering the final quarter of action. The Blue Jays outshot the Falcons in the quarter, 11-6.
 
McCuller scored his first-career goal at the 10:14 mark in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-5. The tally was assisted by Seth Libby, the sophomore's second assist of the season. Messiah tacked on its second-straight goal four minutes later when Mellor notched his second goal of the contest. The goal was the Falcons' sixth of the game, trimming their deficit to eight goals (14-6).
 
Stone added a late tally in the final minute as the Falcons ran out of time, falling to the Blue Jays, 15-7.
 
What's Next
The Falcons host Gwynedd Mercy University this Wednesday, March 24, at 7:00 p.m. for Educator Appreciation Game.