GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Lacrosse team earned the victory on Saturday afternoon, after a back-and-forth battle with the University of Mary Washington. The Falcons held a 5-4 advantage at halftime and with each team notching three goals in the second half, the Falcons claimed the 8-7 win. Hayley Lettinga and Grace Pettitt led Messiah with three goals each. Pettitt also added three assists.

The Falcons return to action on Wednesday, March 5 when they travel to Lancaster, Pa. to take on Franklin and Marshall. Action will begin at 4:30 p.m.

First Quarter
Action was heavily favored on the Falcons' offensive end to start the game with Katie Bukiewicz securing the first draw control. Messiah earned a free position attempt just 16 seconds into the game. Bukiewicz missed just wide before having a second shot blocked. Play was back-and-forth for the next two minutes before Messiah earned a second free position attempt. Hannah Gawne hit the post on the shot and a foul resulted in another free position attempt. Annalise Keitel fired a shot high before Bukiewicz missed wide. Mary Washington recovered the ball and were able to piece together an offensive play that resulted in the first goal of the game at 10:36. Messiah answered 90 seconds later with a goal by Hayley Lettinga to even the score. The Falcons shot four more times, with Jordan Lewicki placing one on frame, forcing a save by the Eagles. With 2:47 remaining in the first quarter, Messiah earned a free position attempt that resulted in a shot on goal for Hannah Gawne that was saved. Grace Pettitt was able to break free and score, giving the Falcons the 2-1 lead. With just under a minute remaining, Hayley Lettinga scored a man-up goal to give the Falcons a 3-1 lead.

Second Quarter
Messiah looked to continue their momentum into the second with an early shot by Katie Bukiewicz. Bukiewicz fired a second shot on goal that was saved before momentum shifted in the Eagles' favor. The Eagles were able to net their second goal with 11:55 remaining in the first half. Hayley Lettinga looked to score another, but the Eagles' goalie was able to make the save. Mary Washington fired a shot on goal that Olivia Hewitt saved in goal for the Falcons. On the Falcons next possession, Grace Pettitt found Hayley Lettinga to give the Falcons a 4-2 advantage with 9:14 remaining. After trading plays in the midfield, Annalise Keitel fired a shot on goal that was saved by Mary Washington. They were able to convert on the other end of the field to cut the Messiah lead to one. Two and a half minutes later, Pettitt connected with Jordan Lewicki for a goal with 1:15 remaining. Mary Washington was able to earn the draw control and score a goal of their own to make it 5-4. They fired one more shot on goal with just 10 seconds left on the clock but Olivia Hewitt was able to make the save and keep the Falcons up 5-4 heading into the break.

Third Quarter
Hannah Gawne fired the first shot of second half, but it was saved by the Eagles goalie. The Eagles earned their second free position attempt of the game and fired a shot that missed wide before firing a second shot that was saved by Olivia Hewitt. Possession was back-and-forth before Annalise Keitel connected with Grace Pettitt with 5:26 remaining. Less than two minutes later, Mary Washington responded with a goal of their own to bring the score to 6-5 in favor of Messiah. Each team fired two more shots, one each on goal, to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter
In the final quarter, it was again the Falcons to strike first, this time with a goal for Katie Bukiewicz from Grace Pettitt. Each team earned a free position attempt that they were unable to convert. Brynn Johnsen then fired a shot but missed just wide. The Eagles recovered the ball and shot high. A foul by the Falcons led to a free position attempt for Mary Washington that resulted in a goal, bringing the score to 7-6 in favor of Messiah. With six minutes remaining, Messiah earned a man-up free position attempt. Grace Pettitt was able to successfully convert the opportunity to give the Falcons an 8-6 lead. Hannah Gawne looked to add another as she won the draw control and fired a shot on goal, but it was saved by the Eagles. A shot for Mary Washington was fired off the post and Addyson Wagman secured the groundball. Messiah called a timeout with 3:13 remaining, as they held a slight two-goal lead. With 1:50 remaining on the clock, Mary Washington netted a goal and called a timeout but were unable to come up with the equalizing goal and Messiah took the 8-7 win.

Stats
Hayley Lettinga and Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with three goals, with Pettitt adding three assists. Katie Bukiewicz secured five draw controls and three groundballs with Emma Hagg adding five groundballs.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Wednesday, March 5 when they travel to Lancaster, Pa. to take on Franklin and Marshall. Action will begin at 4:30 p.m.