GRANTHAM, Pa. - On Wednesday afternoon the second-seeded Messiah women's lacrosse team will host the third-seeded Stevenson Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals. The Falcons and Mustangs will be squaring off in the conference semifinals for the third-straight season and the eighth time in MAC Commonwealth Tournament all-time.
This season, the Falcons and Mustangs met on Apr. 19 in Owings Mills, Md. when the Falcons earned a 12-2 victory over Stevenson. In that meeting, the Falcons held the Mustangs to just 11 shots while attempting 33 of their own to earn the chance to host the semifinal meeting.
Wednesday's winner will advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship on Saturday against the winner of the York Spartans and Widener Pride.
Fans should note, all MAC Commonwealth Tournament games require admission to attend. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for the following prices: Adults - $5, Senior Citizens - $4, Students (valid ID) & Children - $2, Pre-school (under 6) with Adult – FREE
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal:
No. 2 Messiah Falcons – 14-2 overall, 7-1 conference
The Falcons have dropped just two game all season with an early season loss against No. 10 Franklin & Marshall and No. 9 York. Messiah did earn a big early-season victory against No. 8 Gettysburg and outside of their setback against York, controlled their way through the MAC Commonwealth in the regular season. In conference play, Messiah outscored their opponents 127-37 holding a 7-1 record in conference play.
Rachel Delate led the way for the Falcons on the offensive end with a team-high 52 goals and 37 assists for 89 total points. The Falcons are far from a one-trick pony on offense with
Emma Lytle (30 goals)
Hayley Lettinga (26),
Makenzie Schnur (24), and
Hope Flack (22) all netting at least 20 goals on the season. A well-balanced Messiah attack features seven different Falcons will at least 23 points this year.
Defensively,
Grace Gormley leads the Falcons with 46 caused turnovers with 51 ground balls and 69 draw controls. As a unit the Falcons are allowing just 6.95 goals per game with the combination of
Mackenzie O'Haver and
Grace Hejeebu between the pipes allowing just 112 goals against with 96 saves.
No. 3 Stevenson Mustangs – 7-10 overall, 5-3 conference
The Mustangs earned the third seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament despite a 5-3 record in conference play. Stevenson claimed the tie-breaker over the Widener Pride thanks to a 14-9 win against Widener on Apr. 15. Three days earlier, the Mustangs fell 15-12 against Hood while later dropping setbacks to Messiah (12-2) and York (17-5).
Stevenson started the season with five-straight losses before claiming back-to-back wins in Mesa, Ariz. To move to 2-5 on the year. Two more losses wrapped up their non-conference portion of the schedule before a 5-3 mark in conference sent the Mustangs to the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
Kara Yarusso leads the Mustangs with 49 goals and 56 points on the season while Kellyann Coccia and Isabelle VanEmburgh have connected for 35 and 28 goals, respectively. The trio has combined for 112 goals and two thirds of the Mustangs offensive production on the season.
When They Met
As mentioned, the Falcons earned a 12-2 victory over Stevenson earlier this season on Apr. 19. The Mustangs were first on the board in that regular season meeting, tallying just 12 seconds into the contest. Messiah then rattled off nine-straight goals to take a 9-1 lead early in the second half. After Stevenson scored their second goal of the afternoon, Messiah tacked on three-straight scores to earn the 10-goal victory.
Rachel Delate led the team with four goals in the contest while
Jordan Lewicki found the back of the cage three times.
Hope Flack and
Hannah Gawne each scored twice while
Emma Lytle scored once. For Stevenson, Kara Yarusso and Kellyann Coccia each scored once.
