GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah women's lacrosse team dropped a 13-10 game against the St. Mary's (MD) Seahawks on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Grantham. The Falcons fell into an early 6-1 hole in the middle of the second quarter, but rallied with four-straight goals to pull within one at 6-5 early in the third.
 
The Seahawks used a strong third quarter to create some separation as they earned the 13-10 victory over Messiah.
 
Messiah was led offensively by Katie Bukiewicz's three goals. Hayley Lettinga and Hannah Gawne each finished with two goals and an assist to match Bukiewicz's three points. As a team, Messiah was stellar at the draw, winning 16 of the 25 contested draw controls on the afternoon. It was a balanced effort with Hannah Gawne and Emma Hagg leading the team with four draw controls each.
 
With the setback, Messiah falls to 0-4 on the season and will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats at 6:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf.
 
How It Happened
Despite Messiah having more chances throughout the opening quarter of play, it was the Seahawks that held a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. Katelin Scala and Colin Horton each tallied for St. Mary's in the opening 15 minutes of play. Messiah actually held an 11-7 advantage in shots in the first quarter and a 7-5 edge in shots on goal.
 
The trend continued throughout the afternoon, with Messiah putting 25 shots on goal in the game and St. Mary's putting only 20.
 
Annalise Keitel put the Falcons on the board in the opening minute of the second quarter, but four-straight Seahawks' goals followed to build a 6-1 lead for the visitors with nine mintues to play before the half.
 
Katie Bukiewicz found the back of the cage with 7:17 remaining in the half to start a run of three-straight Messiah goals to finish the half. The Falcons found scores from Alina Bernal-Clark and Hannah Gawne in the final five minutes of the second quarter to pull within tow at 6-4 heading to halftime.
 
Hannah Gawn picked up right where Messiah left off when play resumed in the third quarter, scoring a free-position goal and making it a one-goal game.
 
A 5-1 run followed for the Seahawks with Katie Bukiewicz providing the lone Messiah goal during a stretch of 15 minutes of gametime. Five different Seahawks scored during the run to balloon their lead to 11-6.
 
Hayley Lettinga and Natalie Macri scored consecutive goals early in the fourth quarter for the Falcons to pull Messiah within three at 11-8 with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation. Colin Horton got both of those tallies back with scores less than two minutes apart to bump the lead back to five at 13-8.
 
The Falcons did not go down without a fight, netting back-to-back goals by Hayley Lettinga and Katie Bukiewicz, but time ran out on the Falcons' comeback attempt as they fell by a 13-10 final.
 
Between the pipes, Allie Greenly was the difference maker in the game, making 15 saves for the Seahawks. She accumulated 10 saves in the first half alone, including seven in the first 15 minutes of play.
 
What's Up Next
For their next game, the Falcons will welcome the No. 6 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats to Grantham this coming Wednesday for a non-conference match at 6:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf.