GRANTHAM, Pa. – Saturday's tilt with the visiting Chatham Cougars was an offensive outburst for the Messiah men's lacrosse team. The Falcons scored early and often, opening up a 14-0 lead at the half en route to a 21-3 victory on the Lacrosse Turf. Ten different Falcons scored on the afternoon with Chad Teresky and Zach Drake leading the way with four goals each.
 
Bobby Berg and Ben Ferrell each added three as the Falcons earned their biggest victory of the Dan Carson era. The Falcons have seemed to make a big step forward with their level of competition this season. For reference, the Falcons earned a one-goal victory over Chatham a year ago, defeating the Cougars 14-13 on Mar. 5, 2022.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 4-1 on the young season and they will be back in action on Friday, Mar. 10 in Nashville, Tenn. when they take on Sewanne at the Montgomery Bell Academy at 5:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons wasted little time getting the party started, scoring just over a minute into the contest with Chad Teresky finding the back of the cage. Just about two minutes later, Bobby Berg found Jesse Lynch for the game's second goal.
 
In the final 10 minutes of the first quarter, Zach Drake (2), Aaron Shaw, Ben Ferrell (2), and Teresky connected to put Messiah up 8-0 after 15 minutes of action.
 
The second quarter was much of the same as Messiah outscored the Cougars 6-0 in the period to take a 14-0 lead at the break. Zach Drake was the lone Falcon to score twice in the second period as five different Falcons connect. In the first 30 minutes, Messiah outshot the Cougars 27-8.
 
After the half, Messiah scored the first three goals of the third quarter to take a 17-0 lead. Included in the quick run was a behind-the-back goal from Bobby Berg to make it 16-0. The Cougars did get on the board in the final seconds of the third, but the Falcons held a 17-1 lead heading into the fourth.
 
While the Cougars scored twice in the fourth, Messiah still won the period by a 4-2 advantage to claim the 21-3 victory. Will Ehrhart capped off the victory with his first career goal for the game's final tally.
 
In the Box Score
The Falcons dominated the face off with Ben Antel going 18-25 and giving Messiah plenty of possession throughout the game. In addition to his faceoff wins, Antel grabbed 10 ground balls. Corum McCuller snagged seven groundballs while Ricky Pokrivka grabbed five.
 
Between the pipes, Messiah had the chance to play three different goals. Josh Grove got the win, making three first-half saves while registering 30 shutout minutes. Brock Roe made five saves in 18-plus minutes while Aidan Hickey made a save late in the fourth.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Tennessee later this week to take on the Sewanee Tigers next Friday at 5:00 p.m. in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be played at the Montgomery Bell Academy.