YORK, Pa. – The second-seeded Messiah women's lacrosse team outscored the top-seeded York Spartans 4-1 in the final 15 minutes of the MAC Commonwealth Championship on Saturday afternoon, but their comeback attempt fell short as the Spartans earned a 10-7 victory over the Falcons. The Spartans built a 9-3 lead through the first three quarters before the Falcons feverishly attempted to comeback.
 
The late comeback came with leading scorer, Rachel Delate on the bench after receiving her second yellow card early in the third quarter. Hannah Gawne led the Falcons offense on the afternoon with three goals while Hayley Lettinga scored a pair.
 
With the loss, Messiah moves to 15-3 overall on the season and the Falcons will now turn their attention to the NCAA Selection Show to see if they will be selected for an at-large bid the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show will air on ncaa.com at 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning.
 
How It Happened
The Spartans were on the front foot throughout much of the first half, holding a 19-6 advantage in shots and a 7-2 lead on the scoreboard at halftime. Messiah was able to break through one in each of the first two quarters. Trailing 1-0, Makenzie Schnur got the Falcons on the board less than five minutes into the game off a pass from Rachel Delate on a woman-up opportunity.
 
The Falcons trailed 3-1 after the first quarter and the Spartans were first on the board in the second, making it a 4-1 game before Hannah Gawne scored the first of her three goals.
 
Three-straight York goals ended the half and gave the home team a 7-2 advantage at the break. A four-straight Spartan goal opened the third quarter, but Hayley Lettinga scored a free-position goal to pull Messiah within five at 8-3.
 
A York goal ended the quarter and Messiah was looking up at a 9-3 deficit as the MAC Commonwealth Championship Game turned to the fourth quarter. The Falcons quickly cut into the lead with back-to-back goals from Lettinga and Gawne in the first five minutes of the period. Those two scores cut the York cushion to four at 9-5. A five-plus minute scoreless stretch stopped when Gawne scored again, pulling Messiah within three at 9-6 with under five minutes to play.
 
The air was taken out of the Falcons comeback when York's Zoe Kluegel scored to make it a 10-6 game with 2:28 remaining. A late goal from Hope Flack was not enough as the Falcons fell by the 10-7 final score.
 
With the victory, York claims their second-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship after claiming last year's title over Stevenson. The Spartans earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while the Falcons will wait for their name to hopefully be called on Monday morning during the selection show as an At-Large Bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show will take place at 10:30 a.m. on ncaa.com.