GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Lacrosse team hosted No. 9 Gettysburg College on Wednesday, Feb. 19, for their home opener of the 2025 season. The Bullets defeated the Falcons 17-12 in the offensive battle. Grace Pettitt led Messiah with three goals while three Falcons added a pair of goals. Seven Falcons scored in the loss.

The Falcons will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they host the Eagles of Juniata College at 12:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.

First Quarter
With the Falcons coming off an exciting victory over No. 24 Scranton and the No. 9 Gettysburg Bullets looking to open their season strong, the midweek game was set to be full of action. The first shot of the game was fired just a minute in when Gettysburg missed wide before firing a shot on goal that was saved by Grace Hejeebu. On the Falcons possession at the other end, Hayley Lettinga was able to find the back of the net and give Messiah a 1-0 lead just two minutes in to play. The Bullets were quick to respond as they took advantage of a man-up possession and notched the score 1-1 30 seconds later. The teams continued to split possession before Grace Pettitt fired a shot that was saved. At 9:39, the Bullets were again able to find the back of the net and take the 2-1 lead. As Gettysburg looked to extend their lead, Hejeebu made another save before Jordan Lewicki fired a shot at the other end that was also saved. With 6:10 remaining in the opening period, the Bullets earned a free position attempt which saw the first shot fired high. Gettysburg recovered possession and found the back of the net, increasing their lead to 3-1.

Emma Hagg earned the next draw control and Grace Pettitt was able to find a goal at 5:10 to cut the deficit to 3-2. The scoring action continued as the Bullets netted two in the next two minutes, going up 5-2 with three minutes to play. Katie Bukiewicz was able to place two shots on frame as the quarter came to a close, but the Bullets goalie made two saves to keep the score 5-2 after one quarter of play.

Second Quarter
The second quarter continued the highly offensive game as each side netted three goals. The Bullets were first to strike after recovering a ground ball and converting to a goal at their end of the field. After two minutes, the Falcons capitalized on a free position attempt as Grace Pettitt added the free position goal and brought the score to 6-3 in favor of Gettysburg. After a Gettysburg timeout, the Bullets fired a shot high before the Falcons earned another free position attempt. It was again Pettitt firing a shot, but the Gettysburg goalie was able to make the save. At the 6:23 mark, Gettysburg fired a shot that was stopped by Grace Hejeebu. The Bullets recovered the ball and were successful on the second attempt, taking a 7-3 lead.

Katie Bukiewicz earned the draw control, and the Falcons were able to notch another goal as Hannah Gawne found the back of the net. Bukiewicz again secured the draw control, and the Falcons possession resulted in a shot for Hayley Lettinga, but the Gettysburg goalie made the save. With 2:54 remaining in the first half, Messiah earned a free position attempt that resulted in a goal for Grace Pettitt from Hannah Gawne. After a shot wide, the Bullets were able to fire a second attempt shot and take the 8-5 lead that held into the break.

Third Quarter
Out of the break, the Bullets were quick to strike, firing a shot on goal just 25 seconds in that Grace Hejeebu was able to save. The Bullets secured the ground ball and fired another shot, finding the back of the net and extending their lead to 9-5. They struck again two minutes later, bringing the score to 10-5. In the next two minutes, the Bullets fired four shots but were unsuccessful. It was then the Falcons turn to strike as Katie Bukiewicz notched a goal at 9:35. Emma Hagg recovered the draw control and Annalise Keitel found Jordan Lewicki for the Falcons second goal in 24 seconds, cutting the Gettysburg lead to 10-7.

The Falcons earned a man-up free position attempt at 8:02 and Katie Bukiewicz was able to find the back of the net on the free position shot to bring the score to 10-8 in favor of the Bullets. Gettyburg answered a minute later with a goal of their own. After the Bullets fired a shot that was saved by Grace Hejeebu, the Falcons had a successful clear that allowed the offense to set up a successful play that resulted in a goal for Annalise Keitel. With 3:46 remaining in the third quarter, the Bullets notched another goal, bringing their lead to 12-9. The Bullets added two more goals, extending their lead to 14-9 with two minutes remaining. Gettysburg fired another shot on goal, but Hejeebu was able to make the save. With 18 seconds left in the quarter, Grace Pettitt connected with Alina Bernal-Clark to bring the score to 14-10 with one quarter remaining.

Fourth Quarter
Emma Hagg secured the first draw control of the final period, but the Falcons were unable to convert the possession to a shot opportunity. Hannah Gawne was the first to fire a shot in the final quarter, but the Gettysburg goalie was able to make the save. The Bullets used speed to advance to their end of the field and notch a goal to extend their lead to 15-10. Grace Pettitt was next to fire a shot but missed just wide. Pettitt then connected with Jordan Lewicki to bring the score to 15-11 in favor of the Bullets. Gettysburg was quick to answer with a goal of their own to bring their lead back to five.

Grace Hejeebu made a save on the next shot fired but the Bullets were able to find the back of the net with 9:33 remaining on the clock to take a 17-11 lead. With 7:35 remaining, the Falcons called a timeout to prepare for the final minutes of play. Out of the timeout, Hejeebu picked up another save before Katie Bukiewicz missed just wide. Gettysburg called a timeout with two minutes remaining to set up a play for the next possession but were unable to convert the shot. Naomi Dull scooped up a ground ball with nine seconds remaining and Annalise Keitel connected with Alina Bernal-Clark for a last second goal, bringing the final score to 17-12 in favor of Gettysburg.

Stats
Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with three goals while Katie Bukiewicz, Jordan Lewicki, and Alina Bernal-Clark each notched a pair. Pettitt and Annalise Keitel each added a pair of assists. Hannah Gawne led the Falcons with three caused turnovers while nine different Falcons collected ground balls. Grace Hejeebu collected 10 saves in the loss in goal.

Up Next
The Falcons will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they host the Eagles of Juniata College at 12:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.