ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Messiah women's lacrosse team jumped out front early against the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on a dreary night in Annville and never looked back, claiming the 15-9 victory. Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with half a dozen goals on the evening while Katie Bukiewicz, Hannah Gawne, Grace Pettitt, and Natalie Macri each put two goals in the back of the cage.
 
With the victory, Messiah claims their second win of the season and heads into MAC Commonwealth play on a high note. The Falcons will begin the conference slate on Saturday, Apr. 6 on the road against the Hood Blazers at noon.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest with goals from Grace Pettitt and Hayley Lettinga. After Lettinga's goal made it 2-0, Lebanon Valley grabbed the draw control and quickly got the goal back with a tally from Erin Zieber.
 
With the Falcons holding a 2-1 lead, Grace Pettitt found Natalie Macri for the Falcons third goal of the match with 9:09 remaining on the clock in the first quarter. Macri's tally started a seven-goal run for the Falcons that resulted in Messiah holding a 9-1 lead with just 3:26 remaining in the second quarter. During the run, Macri scored back-to-back goals, Hayley Lettinga netted three-straight goals, while Hannah Gawne and Katie Bukiewicz each found the cage.
 
Emily Beard scored the final two goals of the opening half for the Dutchmen and Messiah held a 9-3 lead at the break. In the first 30 minutes, Messiah outshot the Dutchmen 13-6.
 
After the half, Lebanon Valley and Messiah played a more even second half with each team connecting for six goals. The Falcons extended their lead to as many as nine after Grace Pettitt scored her second goal of the evening early in the fourth quarter to push the score to 14-5. Lebanon Valley countered with four-straight goals, to trim the Falcons' lead to five at 14-9, but it was not enough as Katie Bukiewicz scored the final goal of the match to give the Falcons a 15-9 victory.
 
Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with six goals while Grace Pettitt finished with a pair of goals and four assists to match Lettinga for the team lead in points with six.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday, Apr. 6 when they travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers at 12:00 p.m. to kick off the conference slate.