GRANTHAM, Pa. – With the 2026 Messiah Women's Lacrosse season beginning on Saturday, Feb. 14, check out the season preview below.
2025 Season Recap
The Falcons finished the 2025 season with a 14-6 overall record and a 6-1 record in MAC Commonwealth play. The Falcons were defeated by Stevenson University in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal game but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They earned a win over the University of Mount Union in the First Round before being defeated by No. 5 Franklin & Marshall in the Second Round.
2026 Roster Outlook
For the second year in a row, the Falcons will return the majority of their roster, graduating only three seniors, with
Jordan Lewicki returning for her graduate season. Leading the Falcon returners is junior attacker
Grace Pettitt who was named MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season and Co-Attacker of the year for the 2025 season. Pettitt was also named to the IWLCA All-Region Metro First Team for her performance last season. Joining Pettitt with First Team All-Conference honors was
Hayley Lettinga, who also earned IWLCA All-Region Metro Second Team honors as the Falcons leading scorer. All-Conference honorees
Annalise Keitel and
Jordan Lewicki return on the attack with
Hannah Gawne returning to the midfield.
Katie Bukiewicz and
Addyson Wagman return to the defense line and
Grace Hejeebu returns in goal for Messiah. Messiah adds four new faces to the 2026 roster across the field.
2026 Schedule Preview
The Falcons enter the season ranked No. 24 in the Preseason Top 25 IWLCA DIII Coaches poll. The Falcons will begin the season strong, facing five opponents also ranked in the Top 25 in their first seven games, including three top ten teams. Messiah will also face seventh ranked conference foe York College later in the season. The Falcons open the season on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 1:00 p.m. when they host No. 25 University of Scranton at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium. The Falcons will host No. 8 Salisbury University at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. Messiah will host No. 18 Haverford College on March 18, St. Mary's College of Maryland on March 21, and Shenandoah University on March 25 . MAC Commonwealth action will begin with No. 7 York College at 5:00 p.m. at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium on Wednesday, April 1.
2026 MAC Commonwealth Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Preseason Poll
1 - York - 49 (7)
2 - Messiah - 42
3 - Stevenson - 38
4 - Widener - 31
5 - Hood - 25
6 - Alvernia - 18
7 - Albright - 14
8 - Eastern - 7
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