GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Saturday afternoon, the Messiah University men's lacrosse used a dominant first half to defeat the Lions of Albright College, 12-7. The Falcons and Lions played a tight first quarter with the Falcons taking a 2-1 lead. The Falcons shutout the Lions in the second and scored four goals to take a 6-1 lead headed into the half. Both teams scored three goals in the third and the fourth quarter and the Falcons earned the 12-7 win. Michael Cook led the Falcons with six points on two goals and four assists. Jesse Lynch added a hat-trick and an assist. Bobby Berg tallied a hat-trick.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Chester, Pa. to take on the Pride of Widener University at 7:00 p.m.

First Quarter
After almost five minutes of scoreless play, Owen Hammel broke the tie with a goal to give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead. The Lions quickly added a goal two minutes later to tie the game at one. The Falcons broke the scoreless tie with 3:37 remaining in the first with a goal from Michael Cook to give the Falcons a 2-1 headed into the second quarter.
 
Second Quarter
Both defenses kept playing well, but the Falcons extended their lead to two with 9:11 remaining in the half with the second-straight goal from Michael Cook. The Falcons continued their second quarter dominance with three-straight goals in the final five minutes of the half to take a 6-1 lead headed into the break. Quentin Davis, Jesse Lynch, and Ben Ferrell each scored a goal from the Falcons during the stretch.
 
Third Quarter
The Falcons kept the momentum going into the second half with two straight goals to open the third quarter to extend their lead to 8-1 with 8:06 remaining in the third. Bobby Berg and Jesse Lynch each scored a goal for the Falcons. The Lions though answered back with two goals of their own to reduce the Falcons lead back to five with 5:30 remaining in the third. The Falcons increased their lead to six with a goal from Jesse Lynch by Michael Cook with 1:27 remaining the third quarter. The Lions though scored a goal with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth to reduce the Falcons lead to 9-4 headed into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons once again started a quarter strong with a goal from Bobby Berg by Michael Cook to increase the Falcons lead to 10-4 with 10:42 remaining in the game. The Lions kept battling scoring a minute and a half later to reduce the Falcons lead back to five. The Cook to Berg combination struck again just a few minutes later to push the Falcons lead back to six. Each team added a goal in the final five minutes with Owen Hammel scoring for the Falcons to give the Falcons a 12-7 win.
 
Stats
Michael Cook led the Falcons with six points on two goals and four assists. Jesse Lynch added a hat-trick and an assist. Bobby Berg tallied a hat-trick. Owen Hammel also added two goals. Grant Peffall led the Falcons with three caused turnovers and scooped up three ground balls. Bradley Simons led the Falcons with five face off wins and a ground ball. Jourdain Algarin earned the win in the cage for the Falcons and made 11 saves. Aidan Hickey also earned time in goal for the Falcons with a save.
 
Next
The Falcons travel to Chester, Pa. to take on the Pride of Widener University at 7:00 p.m.