SALISBURY, Md. – The Messiah Women's Lacrosse team traveled to No. 5 Salisbury University on Wednesday evening. The Falcons won in thrilling action as Annalise Keitel notched the golden goal in overtime to give Messiah the 10-9 win over the Sea Gulls. Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with four points on two goals and two assists while Hayley Lettinga added three goals. Katie Bukiewicz added a pair of goals while Annalise Keitel added the game winning goal in overtime and an assist. Grace Hejeebu made 11 saves in goal for the Falcons.

Messiah returns to action on Wednesday, April 23, when they host the Golden Wolves of Alvernia University at 4:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium for the final home game of the regular season.

First Period
The Salisbury Sea Gulls were quick to strike with a goal just a minute in to play. Hayley Lettinga was the first to fire a shot for Messiah, but it was saved by the Salisbury goalie. The Sea Gulls looked to extend their lead, but Grave Hejeebu was able to make the save. Play continued before Salisbury recovered a high shot and put the second shot in the back of the net. Just over a minute later, they extended their lead to three. With 4:05 remaining in the opening period, Messiah earned the first free position attempt of the game. Lettinga fired a shot of goal, but it was saved by the Sea Gulls' goalie. A free position shot for the Sea Gulls was high before the second-chance shot was good and the lead extended to 4-0 for Salisbury. Hannah Gawne caused a turnover that was recovered by Lettinga and Katie Bukiewicz was able to find the back of the net for Messiah to bring the score to 4-1 in favor of Salisbury heading into the second period.

Second Period
Salisbury was again first to strike with a goal about a minute into the second period. After Hannah Gawne earned the draw control, Katie Bukiewicz fired a free position shot on goal, but the Sea Gulls' goalie was able to make the save. After Grace Pettitt picked up a ground ball, Hayley Lettinga fired a free position shot on goal that was also saved. On the other end, the Sea Gulls earned a free position attempt of their own, but Grace Hejeebu made the save for Messiah. Three minutes later the Sea Gulls were able to capitalize on their possession to bring the score to 6-1. Following a Messiah timeout, Salisbury fired another shot on goal that Hejeebu was able to save before following it with another save two minutes later. After the second save, Messiah was able to take advantage of their offensive possession with a free position goal for Katie Bukiewicz. After Emma Hagg secured the draw control, Hayley Lettinga notched a goal for Messiah to cut the deficit to three. The end of the period remained scoreless as Salisbury took a 6-3 lead going into halftime.

Third Period
The Falcons looked to build momentum in the opening minutes of the second half as Hannah Gawne secured the opening draw control and fired a shot just wide. Messiah maintained possession and Hayley Lettinga fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Sea Gulls' goalie. A minute and a half later, Salisbury called a timeout and was able to fire a shot on goal that possession, but Grace Hejeebu made the save for Messiah. Messiah then took advantage of a man-up opportunity as Grace Pettitt found Lettinga for a Falcons' goal to bring the score to 6-4. The next four minutes featured a shot wide for each team before Katie Bukiewicz fired one on frame. The Salisbury goalie was able to make the save to keep the two-goal lead. Salisbury fired two shots on goal, both saved by Hejeebu, before the Falcons scored with 38 seconds in the period when Grace Pettitt found Jordan Lewicki to cut the deficit to one with 15 minutes left to play.

Fourth Period
Salisbury fired the first three shots, with two missing wide and Grace Hejeebu making the save on the third before Messiah started their offensive run. Hayley Lettinga tied the score at 6-6 with a goal at the 11:15 mark. Katie Bukiewicz caused a turnover during a free position attempt for Salisbury and the Falcons called a timeout after a ground ball pick up by Emma Hagg. The Falcons then took advantage of a man-up opportunity following the timeout when Annalise Keitel found Grace Pettitt to give Messiah their first lead at 7-6. The Sea Gulls answered five minutes later when they found the back of the net and took the 8-7 lead a minute later. After Grace Hejeebu made a save in goal, the Sea Gulls recovered the ground ball and took a shot on goal to take a 9-7 lead with 47 seconds remaining. Coach Heather McKay made the timeout call to plan for the Falcons next possession. Hannah Gawne secured the draw control and found Alina Bernal-Clark for a goal with 34 seconds remaining. Facing a one-goal deficit, Emma Hagg secured the draw control and Katie Bukiewicz missed a shot just wide with 12 seconds on the clock. The Falcons maintained possession and Grace Pettitt found the back of the net with four seconds remaining to tie the score 9-9. Salisbury won the draw control but didn't have enough time and the game went to overtime.

Overtime
Hannah Gawne secured the opening draw control and Alina Bernal-Clark fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Salisbury goalie. After a Salisbury timeout, Messiah called a timeout as they did near the end of regulation but were unable to find the back of the net in the first three minutes of overtime. As the teams switched sides for the second half of the overtime period, Messiah again controlled possession out of the opening draw control. A free position shot from Hayley Lettinga was saved by the Salisbury goalie before the Sea Gulls took possession and called a timeout with 1:33 to play. The Salisbury shot out of the timeout was saved by Grace Hejeebu who began the clear for the Falcons. Aline Bernal-Clark missed a shot wide before Annalise Keitel recovered the ground ball at the front of the goal and notched it in the top corner to give Messiah the 10-9 overtime victory of the No. 5 Salisbury Sea Gulls.

Stats
The Sea Gulls outshot the Falcons 29-26 with 19 shots on goal to 14. Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with four points on two goals and two assists while Hayley Lettinga added three goals. Katie Bukiewicz added a pair of goals while Annalise Keitel added the game winning goal in overtime and an assist. Emma Hagg lead the Messiah defense with three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Grace Hejeebu made 11 saves in goal for the Falcons.

Up Next
Messiah returns to action on Wednesday, April 23, when they host the Golden Wolves of Alvernia University at 4:00 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium for the final home game of the regular season.