READING, Pa. - The Messiah women's lacrosse team claimed their seventh-straight victory with an 18-7 win over the Alvernia Golden Wolves on Wednesday night. With the victory, Messiah moves back to .500 and remains undefeated in the MAC Commonwealth with a 6-0 record. Hayley Lettinga scored half a dozen goals to lead eight goal scorers on the evening while Mackenzie O'Haver and Grace Hejeebu split time between the pipes. O'Haver made seven first-half saves to earn the victory.
 
The victory sets up a showdown with No. 18-ranked York Spartans in the final game of the regular season. The game will take place on Saturday afternoon on the Lacrosse Turf at Messiah with the opening draw control scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Saturday's winner will claim the top-seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament while the loser will snag the second-seed. Both teams have locked in hosting duties in the Conference Semifinals next Wednesday, May 1.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons took a commanding 11-2 lead after 30 minutes of play on Wednesday evening as they rolled to an 18-7 victory. While the Golden Wolves scored four-straight goals at the end of the third quarter, Messiah dominated play in the final 15 minutes with six tallies against just one from Alvernia.
 
Grace Pettitt got the Falcons on the board just under 90 seconds into the game with an unassisted goal. A score from Alina Bernal-Clark on a free-position goal and back-to-back goals from Hayley Lettinga made it 4-0 Messiah less than six minutes into the game.
 
While Alvernia's Olivia McCambly halted the Falcons' scoring run with 8:09 left in the first, Messiah finished the first quarter with two goals from Natalie Macri to take a 6-1 lead after the opening period.
 
In the second quarter, Messiah outscored the Golden Wolves 5-1 with goals from four different Falcons. Annalise Keitel was the lone Falcon to net two goals in the second with back-to-back tallies at the 8:50 and 4:44 marks. After two strong quarters, Messiah held an 11-2 lead heading to the second half.
 
Hayley Lettinga got the clock running early in the third quarter with Messiah's 12 goal, putting the Falcons up 12-2. The Golden Wolves responded by scoring the next four goals to pull within six at 12-6 by the end of the third quarter.
 
A controlling final quarter saw the Falcons outshoot the Golden Wolves 14-3 and earn all eight draw controls. The result was the Falcons netting six goals to Alvernia's one. Hayley Lettinga led the charge, scoring three goals in the final 15 minutes. Katie Bukiewicz, Hannah Gawne, and Natalie Macri also scored in the period with Grace Pettitt dishing out a trio of assists.
 
In the end, Messiah earned an 18-7 victory to claim their seventh-straight victory. With the win, Messiah moves back to .500 on the season with an 8-8 overall record.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will host the York Spartans on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. with the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament on the line. Both the Falcons and Spartans hold undefeated, 6-0 conference records this season.