GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 25 Messiah Women's Lacrosse team used an explosive second quarter against the Susquehanna Riverhawks to secure the win on Wednesday afternoon. The Falcons scored eight goals in the second quarter to solidify their 2-0 lead after the first quarter. Hayley Lettinga led all scorers with six goals while Jordan Lewicki added three. Hannah Gawne, Dani Sauder, and Annalise Keitel each had four assists.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, March 1, when they host the University of Mary Washington at 12:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.

First Quarter
Katie Bukiewicz won the first draw control and fired off the first shot that was saved by Susquehanna's goalie. Messiah maintained possession and a shot by Hayley Lettinga was also saved. Susquehanna was unable to maintain control of the ball and Grace Pettitt fired a shot on goal for the Falcons first score of the afternoon. Emma Hagg caused a turnover that gave the Falcons another chance to score, the Susquehanna goalie made the save. Messiah earned their first free position attempt at 9:41 and a shot by Bukiewicz hit the crossbar and was recovered by the Riverhawks. After a ground ball for Grace Hejeebu, Messiah maintained control up the field as Hannah Gawne netted the Falcons second goal of the game. Messiah looked to strike again as Hagg recovered the draw control but the shot by Lettinga was saved. Play continued back-and-forth for the next seven minutes with the quarter coming to a close with only one wide shote registered by Susquehanna in the final seven minutes.

Second Quarter
Messiah again began the quarter with control as Annalise Keitel earned the opening draw control. Hayley Lettinga was able to fire a shot on goal that was saved by the Susquehanna goalie. Lettinga then secured a ground ball on a Susquehanna turnover and Katie Bukiewicz fired a shot of her own that was saved. A minute later, Bukiewicz looked to strike but again had her shot saved by the Susquehanna goalie. The Riverhawks were the next to fire a shot but Grace Hejeebu was able to make the save and keep the 2-0 Messiah lead. With 8:24 remaining in the first half, the Riverhawks fired another shot on goal, again saved by Hejeebu, as the Falcons took control for the remainder of the half. Hayley Lettinga netted a goal at 7:24 before scoring again at 6:01. Leah Gaito fired a shot on goal that was saved before a minute of back-and-forth play. Emile Cotton collected the groundball as the Falcons worked their way back to their offensive end where Dani Sauder connected with Brynn Johnson for the Falcons fifth goal of the contest with 2:30 remaining. Hannah Gawne registered the draw control before connecting with Jordan Lewicki for a goal just nine seconds later. Gawne once again secured the draw control, this time connecting with Hayley Lettinga to give the Falcons a 7=0 lead with 2:12 remaining. Messiah netted three more goals from Katie Bukiewicz, Jordan Lewicki, and Dani Sauder to take a 10-0 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter
Coming out of the break, Susquehanna looked to get something together on their offensive end. They scored two goals in the first three minutes to cut the Messiah lead to 10-2. The Riverhawks fired the next shot, but it was saved by Grace Hejeebu. As the Falcons worked their way up the field, Grace Pettitt found Hannah Gawne for the goal. Annalise Keitel secured the next draw control and Hayley Lettinga quickly added the Falcons 12th goal of the game. The Riverhawks fired three shots off target before Annalise Keitel netted a goal with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. After the Falcons secured the draw control, Keitel connected with Jordan Lewicki to bring the score to 14-2 in favor of Messiah. The Falcons notched one more as Annalise Keitel found Katie Bukiewicz on a man-up opportunity, to bring the score to 15-2 with 15 minutes left to play.

Fourth Quarter
The Riverhawks were again first to strike, scoring on a free position goal with 10:33 remaining. The Falcons countered just over a minute later when Annalise Keitel found Hayley Lettinga for the goal. Messiah earned a free position opportunity of their own but missed just wide. The Falcons maintained control and Hayley Lettinga was able to net a goal for the Falcons. Two minutes later, Keitel connected with Dani Sauder to bringing the score to 18-3 with 4:50 remaining. Abby Welchans fired the last shot of the game but missed just wide as Messiah took the win 18-3.

Stats
Hayley Lettinga led all scorers with six goals while Jordan Lewicki added three. Hannah Gawne, Dani Sauder, and Annalise Keitel each had four assists. Emma Hagg had five caused turnovers and seven ground balls. Grace Hejeebu added three saves in goal.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, March 1, when they host the University of Mary Washington at 12:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.