GRANTHAM, Pa. – On a rainy and cold afternoon in Grantham, the Messiah women's lacrosse team brightened the spirits of their faithful fans that braved the cold with a 17-6 victory over the Mary Washington Eagles. The Falcons built an 8-3 lead by the half and continued to strengthen their lead in the second half, cruising to a 17-6 victory.
 
Five different Falcons scored multiple goals in the match with Hayley Lettinga's four tallies leading the way. Rachel Delate finished with a team-high five points, scoring three goals and adding a pair of assists.
 
The victory moves the No. 11 Falcons to 7-1 on the season. Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves in their first conference game of the season at 4:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons jumped out quickly with five goals in the first 7:30 of the game. It was five different Falcons that found the back of the cage with Hope Flack, Jordan Lewicki, Hayley Lettinga, Emma Lytle, and Hannah Gawne scoring to open things up. After the early flurry of Messiah scores, Mary Washington found the scoreboard with a tally eight minutes into the contest.
 
Rachel Delate netted an unassisted tally with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter for the final goal of the period as the Falcons took a 6-1 lead after 15 minutes of play.
 
The second quarter was a quieter one with each team scoring a pair of goals with the Eagles and Falcons alternating scores. Makenzie Schnue and Hannah Gawne connected in the period as the Falcons led 8-3 at the half.
 
The Eagles' Daelyn Gregory scored to open the third quarter, but it was all Messiah after that. The Falcons went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-4 lead early in the fourth quarter. Hayley Lettinga and Rachel Delate each scored twice during the run while Hannah Gawne and Emma Lytle found the twine once, helping the clock get going less than a minute into the fourth.
 
Mary Washington's Katie Blair scored to get the deficit back to single digits at 14-5, but Messiah responded with goals from Hayley Lettinga, Natalie Macri, and Makenzie Schnur to take the Messiah lead up to 17-5. Maya Koebke scored for the Eagles late, but Messiah earned the 17-6 victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves in the first MAC Commonwealth game of the season. Messiah has gone 7-1 in non-conference play and will now test themselves against some familiar conference foes.