YORK, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Lacrosse team traveled to York College for a battle of the top two teams in the conference, both undefeated in Commonwealth play prior to the face off. York earned the 16-7 victory to claim the top seed for playoffs that will begin on Wednesday. With the loss, the Falcons secure the second seed and will host one of the semifinal match ups on Wednesday with the Spartans to host the second game. Jordan Lewicki led the Falcons with three goals while Katie Bukiewicz scoring two. Hannah Gawne had four assists in the Falcons' loss.

The Falcons return to action on Wednesday, April 30, when they host Stevenson University at 5:30 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.

First Quarter
York was first to score, taking a 3-0 lead two and a half minutes into play. The Spartans looked to extend their lead further with a shot on goal, but Grace Hejeebu made the save. As the Falcons took possession, Annalise Keitel found Katie Bukiewicz for Messiah's first goal of the game. The Spartans scored two before Messiah took a timeout. Out of the timeout, possession traded between the Falcons and the Spartans with neither team finding the back of the net over the next four and a half minutes. After Emma Hagg caused a turnover and recovered the ground ball, Hannah Gawne found Grace Pettit for Messiah's second goal, bringing the score to 5-2 in favor of York with 4:18 remaining in the opening quarter. York earned a free position attempt, but Hejeebu made a save in net before the Falcons earned a free position shot of their own. Jordan Lewicki fired a shot on goal, but it was saved by the Spartans' goalie. York was able to score one more to take a 6-2 lead before the break.

Second Quarter
Messiah was first to strike in the second quarter when Hannah Gawne found Jordan Lewicki for the second Falcons' goal of the game. Three minutes later, the Falcons were awarded a free position attempt and Hayley Lettinga fired the free position shot into the back of the goal to cut the deficit to two at 6-4. As Messiah was building momentum, the Spartans called a timeout. York was able to score two goals in the next three minutes to extend their lead to 8-4. With 5:47 remaining in the first half, Hannah Gawne found Katie Bukiewicz for an 8-5 score. A free position shot for the Spartans was saved by Grace Hejeebu before Grace Pettitt picked up a ground ball to start the offense for Messiah. Hannah Gawne notched her fourth assist of the contest as she found Jordan Lewicki to cut the deficit to two with York holding an 8-6 advantage going into halftime.

Third Quarter
The Falcons had three shots on goal in the third quarter saved by the Spartans' goalie as York found the back of the net five times to open their lead to 13-6 with 15 minutes to play.

Fourth Quarter
York opened the final quarter with a pair of goals in the opening two minutes before Jordan Lewicki scored on a feed from Annalise Keitel. York notched a goal with 7:26 remaining to bring the score to 16-7. Messiah had four shots on goal as the minutes
wound down but the York goalie was able to save each of the shots to bring the game to a close with a score of 16-7 in favor of the Spartans.

Stats
Jordan Lewicki led the Falcons with three goals while Katie Bukiewicz scoring two. Hannah Gawne had four assists. Emma Hagg led all players with five caused turnovers and five ground balls. Grace Hejeebu had six saves in goal for the Falcons.

Up Next
With the loss, the Falcons secure the second seed and will host one of the semifinal match ups on Wednesday. The Falcons return to action on Wednesday, April 30, when they host Stevenson University at 5:30 p.m. on the Lacrosse Turf at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium.