LANCASTER, Pa. – The Messiah University Women's Lacrosse team took on the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders on Saturday afternoon in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament after a 20-4 win over the Purple Raiders. Jordan Lewicki notched five goals for the Falcons while Grace Pettitt added four goals and five assists. Hayley Lettinga added four goals and one assist.

The Falcons return to action on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m. when they take on Franklin & Marshall at Shadek Stadium for the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

First Quarter
Mount Union took the first shot of the game about four minutes in but missed wide. A free position shot for Annalise Keitel at 12:42 was saved by the Mount Union goalie. The Falcons scored the first goal of the game with just over 11 minutes remaining in the opening period when Katie Bukiewicz found Hayley Lettinga. After a ground ball pickup by Emma Hagg, Hannah Gawne found Grace Pettitt to extend the Messiah lead to 2-0. The Purple Raiders fired a shot on goal, but Grace Hejeebu was able to make the save. Jordan Lewicki was next to strike when Lettinga found her for the Falcons' third goal of the game. After five minutes of back-and-forth play, Grace Pettitt found Hayley Lettinga for the 4-0 lead. Mount Union found the back of the net with 20 seconds to bring the score to 4-1 before Grace Pettitt found Alina Bernal-Clark as time expired to give Messiah a 5-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

Second Quarter
The first goal of the second quarter was not scored until there was 8:31 remaining in the first half but the opening minutes were not without action. The Falcons fired off six shots while Grace Hejeebu made one save in goal for the Falcons. Hayley Lettinga scored at 8:31 to extend the lead to 6-1. Just over a minute later, Annalise Keitel found Jordan Lewicki for the man-up goal. After a ground ball for Hannah Gawne, she found Grace Pettitt for the Falcons' eighth goal of the half. Lettinga found the back of the goal before Pettitt found Keitel to extend the lead to 10-1 heading into half time.

Third Quarter
The first goal of the second half came at 14:01 when Hannah Gawne notched a free position goal to begin a running clock. After a Hayley Lettinga shot missed just wide, Gawne found the back of the net again for the 12-1 lead. After Mount Union scored a goal, they looked to add another, but Grace Hejeebu was able to make the save. Grace Pettitt scored an unassisted and two minutes later Leah Gaito found the back of the net to extend the lead to 14-2. With two seconds remaining on the clock, Brynn Johnsen scored on a free position goal to bring the score to 15-2 with one quarter of play remaining.

Fourth Quarter
Mount Union fired the first two shots of the final quarter, but Messiah was first to find the back of the net when Grace Pettitt scored unassisted with 11:32 on the clock. Jordan Lewicki notched a free position goal then two minutes later, Pettitt found Lewicki to bring the score to 18-2. After a Purple Raiders foul, Pettitt found Annalise Keitel for a man-up goal. Jordan Lewicki scored on a pass from Annalise Keitel for the Falcons final goal of the game. Messiah earned the 20-4 victory to advance to the NCAA Tournament Second Round.

Stats
Jordan Lewicki notched five goals for the Falcons while Grace Pettitt added four goals and five assists. Hayley Lettinga added four goals and one assist. Hannah Gawne and Annalise Keitel each added a pair of goals and a pair of assists. Gawne added three ground balls, and three caused turnovers and Emma Hagg contributed four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m. when they take on Franklin & Marshall at Shadek Stadium for the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.