BUENA VISTA, Va. – The Messiah University men's lacrosse team dominated in a 21-9 win over Southern Virginia University on Wednesday afternoon. The Falcons jumped to an early lead with eight goals in the first quarter to lead 8-3. The Falcons then outscored the Knights 4-0 in the second quarter to lead 12-3 at the half. After allowing two goals to start the third the Falcons responded with four straight goals to push their lead to 16-5 at the end of the third. The Falcons put the finishing touches on the win in the fourth and cruised to a 21-9 win. Mike McKnelly led the Falcons offense with eight goals. Chad Teresky and Bobby Berg each finished with five points.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Greensboro, N.C. to take on the Quakers of Guilford College on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m.
 
First Quarter
The Falcons got on the board early with a goal from Chad Teresky just over a minute into the game. The Knights tied the game just a minute later, but Chris Esslinger scored a goal from Teresky to give Messiah back the lead with 11:49 remaining in the quarter. A minute later the Knights tied the game at two, but then the Falcons offense broke the game open. The Falcons scored five straight goals with four straight goals coming from Mike McKnelly to give the Falcons a 7-2 lead with 5:19 remaining in the quarter. The Knights added a goal two minutes later, but the Falcons added another goal from Michael Cook by RJ Mellor to put the score at 8-3 after the first quarter.
 
Second Quarter
The Falcons continued the momentum into the second quarter with goals from Owen Hammel and Will Ehrhart in the first five minutes to give the Falcons a 10-3 lead. Bobby Berg then scored two straight goals and the Falcons took at 12-3 lead headed into the half.
 
Third Quarter
Southern Virginia opened the second half with two goals in the first five minutes to reduce the Falcons lead to seven. The Falcons offense struggled to put the ball into the back of the cage, until the final three minutes. The Falcons closed the third quarter with a 4-0 run that started with a goal by Mike McKnelly from RJ Mellor and ended with a goal from Seth Libby from Owen Hammel to give the Falcons a commanding 16-5 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Knights opened the fourth quarter strong with two goals in the first two minutes. The Falcons then responded with three straight goals from Mike McKnelly to push the Falcons lead to 19-7 with 9:22 remaining in the fourth. The Falcons then scored two goals in the final five minutes from Owen Hammel and Slater Smith to give the Falcons a 21-7 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the game. The Knights added two goals in the final 30 seconds to put the final score at 21-9.
 
Stats
Mike McKnelly led the Falcons offense with eight goals and added in six ground balls. Chad Teresky and Bobby Berg each finished with five points. Teresky totaled two goals and three assists and Berg tallied a hat trick and two assists. Owen Hammel, RJ Mellor, and Seth Libby each added in three points. Nate Jaloszynski led the Falcons defense with two caused turnovers and an assist. Ben Antel won nine faceoffs and scooped up five ground balls. Grant Peffall also won three faceoffs, scooped up six ground balls and added in an assist. Jourdain Algarin earned the win in the cage for the Falcons and made four saves. Brock Roe earned time in the cage and made six saves. Sam Lightner also added in a save and Josh Grove also appeared in the cage for the Falcons.
 
Next
The Falcons travel to Greensboro, N.C. to take on the Quakers of Guilford College on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m.