READING, Pa. - In a conference match against Alvernia, the No. 15 Messiah women's lacrosse team overwhelmed the Golden Wolves 18-6 in a runaway victory. Messiah took control early, scoring 14 first-half goals en route to the lopsided win.
 
Rachel Delate threatened the Messiah single-game record for goals and points after scoring six goals and adding three assists in the first-half alone. She finished the match with those nine points.
 
After 30 minutes of play, three different Falcons had completed hat tricks. In addition to Delate, Ehryn Groothoff and Emma Lytle had both notched three goals before the break. In the game, eight different Falcons collected points with five players scoring multiple goals.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 8-3 on the season and 2-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will put their five-game winning streak on the line Saturday when they travel to Widener to take on the Pride at 1:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons leaped out to a massive 14-2 lead at the half thanks to eight first-quarter goals and then six more in the second. Amanda Wadsworth started the scoring with a tally off a feed from Rachel Delate, but Alverina countered with a score to tie things up just three minutes into the contest. After an Emma Lytle score, Alvernia found the back of the net again to pull level at 2-2.
 
Midway through the opening quarter Emma Lytle scored her second of the game to put the Falcons on top 3-2 with 8:27 left in the quarter.
 
That's when Rachel Delate took over. The junior attacker scored the final five goals of the quarter, giving the Falcons an 8-2 advantage heading into the second period. During the run, Delate tallied her 100th career goal, doing so in just 32 career games.
 
The Falcons did not stop there. Messiah shutout the Golden Wolves in the second quarter, scoring half a dozen tallies to get the clock running take a 14-2 lead into the break. During the period, Ehryn Groothoff tallied three scores and Emma Lytle completed her hat trick.
 
After the half, Messiah eased up on the accelerator just a little. Each team found the twine four times in the final 30 minutes and Messiah earned an 18-6 victory to improve to 2-0 in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will now turn their attention to the Widener Pride with an away match on Saturday in Chester at 1:00 p.m. After a 3-3 start to the season, Messiah was ripped off five-straight victories, including back-to-back conference wins to begin the MAC Commonwealth slate.