OWINGS MILLS, Md. – On Wednesday evening, the Messiah University men's lacrosse team fell in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals to the Mustangs of Stevenson University, 14-8. The defenses started strong with the Mustangs taking a 2-1 lead after the first quarter. Mustangs outscored the Falcons by one in the second to take a 5-3 lead at the half. The Mustangs outscored the Falcons 4-1 in the third to take a 9-4 lead headed into the final quarter. The Mustangs outscored the Falcons by one in the fourth to earn the 14-8 win.
Michael Cook led the Falcons with four points on two goals and two assists.
Owen Hammel scored three goals.
Bobby Berg tallied two goals and an assist.
Caleb McHugh led the Falcons defense with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Jourdain Algarin earned the start in the cage for the Falcons and made 14 saves. With the 14 saves Algarin broke the single season record for saves with 220 and the career program record with 590 career saves.
First Quarter
The Mustangs opened the game strong with a goal just 10 seconds into the game. Both defenses then settled into the game for the next 11 minutes before
Owen Hammel tied the game with a man-up goal from
Michael Cook with 3:30 remaining in the first. The Mustangs responded with a goal a minute later to take a 2-1 lead headed into the second quarter.
Second Quarter
The Mustangs started the second with a goal in the first 30 seconds to push their lead to 3-1. After almost 10 minutes of scoreless play,
Bobby Berg and
Quinn Foster each scored a goal to tie the game at three with four minutes remaining in the half. The Mustangs closed the second with two-straight goals to take a 5-3 lead headed into the break.
Third Quarter
The Mustangs opened the third with a goal in the first minute to take a 6-3 lead. The Falcons responded two minutes later with a goal from
Michael Cook by
Bobby Berg to cut the Mustangs' lead to two with 12 minutes remaining in the quarter. The Mustangs closed the third with three unanswered goals to take a 9-4 lead headed into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Mustangs opened the fourth with three-straight goals to push their lead to 12-4 with nine minutes remaining in the game. After four minutes of scoreless play,
Owen Hammel scored back-to-back goals to cut the Mustangs lead to six with just under four minutes remaining. Both teams scored two goals the rest of the way, with
Bobby Berg and
Michael Cook each scoring a goal for the Falcons to put the final score at 14-8.
Stats
Michael Cook led the Falcons with four points on two goals and two assists.
Owen Hammel scored three goals.
Bobby Berg tallied two goals and an assist.
Quinn Foster added a goal.
Caleb McHugh led the Falcons defense with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Walker Penchansky added two caused turnovers.
Noah Hauf won eight faceoffs and scooped up five ground balls.
Jourdain Algarin earned the start in the cage for the Falcons and made 14 saves. With the 14 saves Algarin broke the single season record for saves with 220 and the career program record with 590 career saves.
2026 Season Recap
The Falcons ended the 2026 season with a 9-7 overall record with a 5-2 record in conference play. The Falcons earned a trip to the postseason with the 5-2 record in conference play after just missing out on the conference tournament in 2025. The Falcons dominated at home this season with a 6-0 record in Grantham.
