GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 19 Messiah Women's Lacrosse team hosted the No. 5 Salisbury Sea Gulls on a rainy afternoon at the Witmer Family Lacrosse Stadium. The Falcons took an early 2-0 lead before Salisbury took a 4-3 lead to end the first. After holding an 8-6 lead at the half, Salisbury maintained the two-goal lead at 10-8 with one quarter remaining. The Falcons outscored the Sea Gulls 3-2 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough as Salisbury took the 12-11 win. Annalise Keitel led the Falcons with five points, scoring a pair of goals and adding three assists. Hayley Lettinga tallied four goals while Jordan Lewicki tallied three and one assist. Grace Pettitt added a goal, and an assist and Hannah Gawne added a goal. Gawne added six draw controls, a caused turnover, and a ground ball.

The Falcons return to play on at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 7 when they travel to UMBC for a neutral site contest against Washington College (Md.).

First Quarter
The Falcons took an early 2-0 lead behind a goal from Hayley Lettinga 31 seconds in and one from Grace Pettitt just over a minute later. After a shot from the Sea Gulls missed high, they fired a second shot into the back of the net to cut the Messiah lead to 2-1. The teams traded possession before Hayley Lettinga recovered a ground ball and Pettitt fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Sea Gulls goalie. Grace Hejeebu made a save in goal on a Salisbury shot and, on the Falcons, next possession, Pettitt found Jordan Lewicki to give Messiah the 3-1 lead. Salisbury added two goals over the next two minutes to bring the score to 3-3. The Sea Gulls missed a pair of shots before Hayley Lettinga fired a shot just high. Annalise Keitel recovered the ground ball and a shot from Lettinga was blocked to end the period.

Second Quarter
The Sea Gulls scored an early goal to extend their lead to 5-3 before a free position shot was saved by Grace Hejeebu. Annalise Keitel fired a shot off the crossbar before the Sea Gulls recovered the ball. The Sea Gulls scored a free position goal before adding a second goal in a minute to take a 7-3 lead with 9:49 remaining in the first half. Hannah Gawne earned the draw control for Messiah before a shot from Grace Pettitt was saved. At the other end, Grace Hejeebu made a save on a shot from the Sea Gulls before a Messiah timeout. The Sea Gulls scored on a free position attempt before missing a shot wide to maintain an 8-3 lead. With 4:29 remaining, Jordan Lewicki and Annalise Keitel used a little give and go that saw a goal from Lewicki at the front of the cage to bring the score to 8-4 in favor of Salisbury. With a man-up opportunity, Keitel found Hayley Lettinga to bring the score to 8-5 in favor of Salisbury. With 17 seconds remaining in the first half, a free position attempt for Jordan Lewicki was converted successfully to cut the deficit to two goals. A last second shot from the Sea Gulls was saved by Grace Hejeebu.

Third Quarter
Out of the break, Salisbury earned a free position attempt in the first minute and converted for a goal before adding another just over a minute later for a 10-6 lead. After a trade in possession, the Sea Gulls fired a shot on goal that was saved by Grace Hejeebu. The teams traded possessions before a successful clear from the Falcons led to a goal for Hayley Lettinga, bringing the score to 10-7 in favor of Salisbury. A wide shot for the Sea Gulls was followed by a shot on goal that was saved by Grace Hejeebu. Another shot on goal for the Sea Gulls was saved by Hejeebu with just over three minutes to play. The Falcons had a successful clear and Hayley Lettinga found the back of the net for the Falcons. With just under two minutes remaining, Lettinga fired a free position shot that was saved by the goalie. Hannah Gawne put a last second shot on goal, but the Sea Gulls' goalie made the save to take the 10-8 Salisbury lead into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter
With a yellow card carrying over from the third quarter, Annalise Keitel found Hannah Gawne for a man-up goal, bringing the deficit to one at 10-9. Jordan Lewicki and Alina Bernal-Clark missed shots high before a shot from Grace Pettitt was saved by the Sea Gulls' goalie. After Gawne secured a ground ball, Jordan Lewikci found Annalise Keitel to notch the score 10-10 with 11:36 remaining on the clock. After a Salisbury timeout, the teams played back-and-forth for three minutes before a timeout for the Falcons. With a man-up free position attempt, Messiah took the 11-10 lead with a goal from Annalise Keitel. The Sea Gulls tallied a pair of goals in the next two minutes to regain the lead at 12-11. Grace Pettitt fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Salisbury goalie. After a late timeout by Salisbury, the Falcons were able to cause a shot clock violation to regain possession looking for the equalizer. Hayley Lettinga fired a late shot but missed just wide as time expired.

Stats
Annalise Keitel led the Falcons with five points, scoring a pair of goals and adding three assists. Hayley Lettinga tallied four goals while Jordan Lewicki tallied three and one assist. Grace Pettitt added a goal, and an assist and Hannah Gawne added a goal. Gawne added six draw controls, a caused turnover, and a ground ball.

Up Next
The Falcons return to play on at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 7 when they travel to UMBC for a neutral site contest against Washington College (Md.).