ANNVILLE, Pa. – Playing in an early morning game, the No. 14 Messiah women's lacrosse team earned a 12-8 victory over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Saturday morning. The match started as a low-scoring contest with Messiah netting four goals in the first 30 minutes of play while holding the Dutchmen to just a single goal in the first half.
In the second half, the goals started flowing. Messiah netted four third-quarter goals and the Dutchmen put three in the back of the cage. As a result, the Falcons held an 8-4 lead heading to the final period. The fourth quarter featured eight total goals with each team scoring four. The back and forth second half allowed the Falcons to earn the 12-8 victory.
Rachel Delate led the Falcons with four goals and an assist for five total points.
With the win, Messiah improves to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Hood to take on the Blazers at 5:00 p.m.
Defensive First Half
After nearly 10 minutes of scoreless play to start the game, the Dutchmen scored the first goal of the game with 5:19 remaining. Messiah responded with the next six tallies, but needed over 20 minutes to make it a 6-1 lead.
Messiah's four first-half goals were scored by four different players with
Amanda Wadsworth,
Makenzie Schnur,
Emma Lytle, and
Rachel Delate finding the twine.
Level Second Half
After seeing just five goals scored across the entirety of the first half, both the Falcons and Dutchmen made some half-time adjustments and began to pour the goals in. The Falcons connected for eight second-half goals while the Dutchmen finished off seven.
Rachel Delate led the effort after the break with three goals while
Regan Gillisse scored her first career goal midway through the third quarter.
The Dutchmen did cut the Falcons' lead to two goals at 10-8 with under seven minutes to play, but late goals from
Emma Lytle and
Amanda Wadsworth gave the Falcons the four-goal victory.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Hood College for a conference game against the Blazers at 5:00 p.m.
