GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 11 Messiah women's lacrosse team fell short against No. 6 Franklin & Marshall College, 17-12, at the Lacrosse Turf on Wednesday afternoon. Despite the loss, Hope Flack recorded a team-high four goals as Grace Gormley, Rachel Delate, and Ehryn Groothoff all contributed two goals each.
 
It was a clear, warm day at Messiah's Lacrosse Turf as the nationally-ranked matchup began with end-to-end action between the two sides. After a successful clear, the Diplomats struck first behind a tally from Marissa McGarrey at the 13:09 mark. The visitor's lead doubled not even two minutes later when McGarrey scored her second goal of the game, a turnaround shot to sink the Falcons into a quick two-goal deficit.
 
Messiah scored its first goal at the 7:18 mark. Delate found Hope Flack cutting to the net for an easy finish to cut the Falcons' deficit in half (2-1). With Messiah back in the contest, Mackenzie O'Haver made a phenomenal save on a shot from Lydia Cassily. AbbyEllen Wood picked up the groundball and found Delate who made a run at net. Delate used her precision to find the bottom left corner of the net, leveling the score at 2-2 with 5:17 left in the quarter.
 
Franklin & Marshall recorded another goal with just 22 seconds left in the quarter to take a 3-2 lead. O'Haver registered three saves in the quarter as the Diplomats outshot Messiah, 7-6.
 
Just 1:25 into the second quarter, Messiah equalized in transition, 3-3, behind Makenzie Scnhur's third goal of the season. The Falcons continued its offensive pressure as Flack struck the post on a shot at the 12:05 mark. Nearly taking its first lead of the game, Messiah was denied when Emily Kitchin made her fifth save of the game on a low shot from Delate. Delate, with the low effort, had taken her game-leading fifth shot of the contest.
 
After consecutive goals in quick fashion from the Diplomats, Messiah found itself in a two-goal deficit once again. However, Messiah came storming back. Delate tallied her second goal of the contest at the 8:04 mark as Emma Lytle leveled the score, 5-5, with a goal just 1:15 later.
 
After giving up back-to-back goals, Franklin & Marshall called a timeout. The Diplomats restored their lead before halftime, rattling off three unanswered goals to take an 8-5 lead into halftime. At the half, Delate had a team-leading two goals as Flack, Schnur, and Lytle each contributed one goal.
 
Despite trailing by three goals, the Falcons outshot the Diplomats in the first half, 17-14.
 
Grace Gormely scored the first goal of the second half, intercepting a pass on a clear attempt from the visitors. Gromely darted towards net, finding the top corner to cut the Falcons' deficit to two goals (8-6). The Diplomats answered promptly, scoring consecutive goals to restore their advantage to 10-6. The Falcons kept fighting as Ehryn Groothoff scored on a woman-up advantage, assisted by Lytle.
 
Messiah trailed the Diplomats, 10-7, with 6:04 left in the third quarter. Franklin & Marshall took control in the final six minutes, outscoring Messiah, 4-1. Groothoff tallied another woman-up goal, but the Falcons entered the final quarter of play with a 14-8 deficit. Each side fired off eight shots in the third quarter as the Diplomats converted an impressive 6-of-8 attempts, proving to be the difference in the period.
 
The two sides traded goals in the final quarter of play as Messiah outscored the Diplomats, 4-3. Flack had a big quarter, upping her game total to four with three fourth-quarter goals. Gormley tallied her second goal of the contest with just 1:24 remaining in the game as goalkeeper Heather Burnham racked up three saves.
 
The Falcons fought hard, but dropped the contest against their top-ten opponent, 17-12.
 
What's Next
Messiah returns to action next Tuesday, Mar. 8, traveling to Shenandoah University for a 4:00 p.m. game against the Hornets.