SCRANTON, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Lacrosse team opened the 2025 season at No. 24 University of Scranton on Friday, Feb. 14, earning a 10-8 win over the Royals. After a first-half hat-trick, Hayley Lettinga finished with four goals, while Grace Pettitt added three goals with two assists.

The Falcons return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when they host No. 9 Gettysburg College at 4:00 p.m. at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium for their home opener.

First Quarter
Katie Bukiewicz won the opening draw control for Messiah and took the first shot of the game as the Falcons worked their way up field. After getting the ball back after the goalie saved shot one, Bukiewicz fired a shot wide by Hannah Gawne fired one just high. Play was back-and-forth in the midfield before Scranton earned a free position attempt at 9:12. A shot off the post was recovered by the Royals who then converted the possession to a goal to take a 1-0 lead with 8:29 remaining in the quarter. After the goal, Emma Hagg recovered the draw control and Buckiewicz again fired off a shot that was saved by the Royals' goalie. Some back-and-forth possession led to a shot by Scranton at 5:45 that was saved by Grace Hejeebu. Hagg recovered the ground ball and maintained possession for the Falcons. Hayley Lettinga fired off a shot that ricocheted off the post. Thirty seconds later, Grace Pettitt found Lettinga for the Falcons first goal, tying the score 1-1.

After securing the draw control, Scranton earned their second free position attempt and again converted for a goal. After earning the draw control, it was again Hayley Lettinga finding the back of the net for the Falcons, tying the score at 2-2. Messiah again put pressure on the net with Lettinga firing a shot with 2:14 left. Annalise Keitel picked up the ground ball off the save before Grace Pettitt notched her first goal of the season and gave the Falcons a 3-2 lead. About a minute later, Scranton tied the score at 3-3 on a free position shot.

Second Quarter
The Royals were the first to attack in the second quarter with a shot that was blocked by a Falcon. As the Falcons worked their way to the other end of the field, Hayley Lettinga fired two shots wide before Grace Pettitt fired a shot just wide at 12:57. Scranton then fired a shot wide before the Falcons took control again and Annalise Keitel was able to fire a shot that missed just high. Alina Bernal-Clark recovered the ground ball and Lettinga was able to fire off a free position shot but missed wide. After two minutes of trading possession, Scranton fired off a shot that was saved by Grace Hejeebu. The Royals were able to take the 4-3 lead after a man-up goal.

Scranton fired the next shot, but Hejeebu was able to come up with the save again. After a minute of possession, Grace Pettitt found Hayley Lettinga for the first-half hat trick, tying the score at 4-4 with 5:29 to play in the second quarter. The next five minutes was played mostly in the midfield as possession went back-and-forth. A free position shot for the Royals missed wide before Grace Hejeebu saved the second shot, ending action in the first half 4-4.

Third Quarter
The first four and a half minutes out of the break were spent trading possession before Hannah Gawne was able to fire off a shot at 11:27 that was saved by the Royals' goalie. Scranton took momentum from the save to the other end of the field and fired a shot of their own that missed wide. Messiah called a timeout with 9:06 remaining in the quarter. After a trade in possession, Katie Bukiewicz fired a shot off the post that was recovered by Scranton. The Royals fired a shot high before getting the ball back and scoring on their next shot, taking the 5-4 lead before calling a timeout. Bukiewicz fired off a pair of shots, having the first saved and the second miss just high. Grace Pettitt was the next to fire a shot at 4:16 but it was saved by Scranton. With 1:23 left, Hannah Gawne took a free position shot that was saved by the Royals' goalie. With the Falcons maintaining possession, Annalise Keitel found Grace Pettitt for the tying goal with 27 seconds remaining in the third. Gawne was able to earn the draw control and fight down field for a goal with five seconds remaining, giving the Falcons the 6-5 lead with 15 minutes to play.

Fourth Quarter
Messiah had a free position attempt at 14:09 but was unable to convert. During a man-up possession, Grace Pettitt scored her second goal of the game, extended the Messiah lead to 7-5. Over the next three and a half movies, Hannah Gawne, Grace Pettitt, and Annalise Keitel each fired a shot that missed the back of the net. Messiah earned a free position attempt at 9:39 and a shot by Gawne was saved before a shot by Pettitt missed just wide. At 8:30, the Falcons earned a man-up, free position attempt that was converted into a free position goal for Hayley Lettinga, bringing the score to 8-5 in favor of the Falcons. After a Scranton timeout, the Royals earned a free position attempt of their own, but their shot was saved by Grace Hejeebu. A follow-up free position attempt resulted in another save for Grace Hejeebu.

At 6:56, Messiah earned another man-up free position attempt, this time converted to a free position goal by Annalise Keitel. After a Scranton timeout, play was back-and-forth before a Messiah man-down free position attempt at 3:39 that was converted to a free position goal by Hannah Gawne. After winning the next draw control, the Royals were able to notcha goal after a fast-break down the field. The Royals quickly notched another goal, bringing the Falcons lead to 10-7 with 2:45 to play. Just 30 seconds later, it was again the Royals to strike, leading to a 10-8 score. Messiah fired one more shot at the end of the fourth, but the score remained 10-8 as the Falcons earned the season-opening victory.

Game Stats
Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with four goals. Grace Pettitt added three goals with two assists and six ground balls. Hannah Gawne had two goals while Annalise Keitel had one goal, one assist, and six groundballs. Grace Hejeebu had six saves in goal for the Falcons. Messiah outshot Scranton 33-21 and held a slight 13-17 to 11-17 advantage in successful clears.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when they host No. 9 Gettysburg College at 4:00 p.m. at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium for their home opener.