CLEARWATER, Fl. – The No. 23 Messiah Women's Lacrosse team traveled to Clearwater, Fl. to take on the Haverford Fords in a neutral site game on Wednesday afternoon. The Fords defeated the Falcons 16-10. Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with four goals while Aline Bernal-Clark and Grace Pettitt each added a pair.

Messiah returns to action on Wednesday, March 19, when they host Lebanon Valley College on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium at 4:00 p.m.

First Quarter
The Falcons earned the first draw control with Katie Bukiewicz and were first to fire a shot when Jordan Lewicki placed one on goal just a minute into play, forcing a save by the Fords' goalie. The Fords recovered the ground ball and were able to convert their first shot opportunity with a goal at the 13:08 mark. Bukiewicz and Hannah Gawne each fired a shot on goal that were saved by Haverford. The Fords again collected the ground ball and were able to score their second goal of the game. Bukiewicz caused a turnover and recovered the ground ball. Annalise Keitel then found Hayley Lettinga for the Falcons first goal of the game with 11 minutes to play in the first quarter. It was a similar story for the Fords as they recovered a ground ball and scored their third goal of the game. Gawne made another strong attempt on goal that was saved. Two minutes later, the Fords notched another goal. Lettinga looked to add another goal for the Falcons but had the shot saved. Haverford fired another and Grace Hejeebu was able to make the save. The teams traded possession before Lettinga notched her second goal of the game to bring the score to 4-2 in favor of Haverford. Grace Pettitt fired a late shot on goal with 18 seconds remaining, but it was saved and the score stood at 4-2 heading into the second quarter.

Second Quarter
Haverford took the first shot of the second quarter, but the Falcons were able to block it. The Fords then earned a free position shot at the 13:53 mark and Grace Hejeebu made the save. They fired a shot a minute later and Hejeebu again made the save. The Fords then fired a shot wide and recovered the ball for the first goal in the second quarter. A minute later they extended the lead to 6-2. In the next two and a half minutes, Haverford added three more goals, taking a 9-2 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The next shot fired was saved by Hejeebu. Messiah earned a free position attempt with five minutes remaining and Grace Pettitt was able to find the back of the goal. Two minutes later Dani Sauder fired a shot wide, but the Falcons recovered the ball and Pettitt found Katie Bukiewicz for the man-up goal, bringing the score to 9-4 heading into the break.

Third Quarter
The Fords again took the first shot, but Grace Hejeebu was able to make the save. Hannah Gawen fired the Falcons' first shot of the second half, but the Haverford goalie was able to make the save. A minute later, the Fords scored their first goal of the half three minutes in. Katie Bukiewicz had the next shot for Messiah, but her shot was blocked by the Fords' defense before the Fords scored another goal. A minute later, Hayley Lettings netted a goal for the Falcons, bringing the score to 10-5. The next four and a half minutes saw one shot by each team that resulted in a save for the Fords goalie and one for Hejeebu before Lettinga scored a goal for the Falcons with four minutes left in the quarter. Two minutes later, Grace Pettitt notched another goal before Haverford called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Haverford earned the draw control and missed a shot high before firing a shot on goal that was saved by Hejeebu. Haverford then scored on a free position goal to take a 12-7 lead with one quarter remaining.

Fourth Quarter
The Fords were quick to strike with a man-up free position goal 47 seconds into the final quarter. Brynn Johnsen earned the draw control for Messiah and Alina Bernal-Clark was able to find the back of the net. After two minutes of back-and-forth, the Fords scored again for a 14-8 lead. With about 10 minutes remaining, the Fords fired a shot that was blocked before firing the next shot off the post. After a shot for the Fords that went wide, Katie Bukiewicz fired a shot that was saved. The Falcons collected the ricochet and Annalise Keitel connected with Alina Bernal-Clark for the Falcons second goal of the quarter. The Fords were quick to answer with another free position goal. Messiah called a timeout with just under three minutes remaining and it looked to pay off as Annalise Keitel found the back of the net with 1:23 remaining. With 26 seconds remaining, the Fords notched one more goal to earn the win 16-10.

Stats
Hayley Lettinga led the Falcons with four goals and three ground balls. Aline Bernal-Clark and Grace Pettitt each added a pair of goals while Pettitt also added an assist. Annalise Keitel added two assists and a goal.

Up Next
Messiah returns to action on Wednesday, March 19, when they host Lebanon Valley College on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium at 4:00 p.m.