EWING, N.J. – The No. 16 Messiah Women's Lacrosse team concluded their season in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament with an 18-11 loss to No. 14 The College of New Jersey on Sunday, May 10. Messiah held a 3-2 lead after the first quarter before the Lions outscored the Falcons 6-3 in the second to hold an 8-6 lead at halftime that they would never look back from. TCNJ scored 10 goals in the second half to secure the 18-11 win and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with four goals and an assist while
Hayley Lettinga added five assists.
Hannah Gawne tallied four goals, six draw controls, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
With the loss, the Falcons conclude their season with a record of 15-6.
First Quarter
After the Lions earned the opening draw control, a caused turnover from
Riley Lewicki and ground ball from
Brynn Johnsen kickstarted the offense for the Falcons. Messiah earned a free position attempt, and the Falcons were able to convert the man-up opportunity when
Hayley Lettinga found
Grace Pettitt to give Messiah a 1-0 lead at 12:48. After a save for
Grace Hejeebu in goal, Pettitt found
Annalise Keitel to extend the Messiah lead to 2-0, just over five minutes into play. The teams traded possessions as both Pettitt and
Hannah Gawne had shots on goal saved before Hejeebu picked up a save in goal. The Lions got on the board with a man-up, free position goal to cut the deficit to one with 3:27 to play in the first. After a trade in possession,
Hannah Gawne converted a free position attempt to give Messiah a 3-1 lead with just over a minute to play. The Lions were able to tally a late goal to move to the second quarter with Messiah holding a slight 3-2 lead.
Second Quarter
Hayley Lettinga opened the second quarter with a shot off the post before TCNJ took control. The Lions scored on a free position shot to notch the score before winning the draw control and tallying a quick goal to take a 4-3 lead with 12:13 to play. TCNJ added three goals over the next five minutes to extend their lead to 7-3. After a shot from
Hannah Gawne hit the post,
Abby Welchans recovered the ball to give the Falcons a second opportunity.
Grace Pettitt notched a free position goal before
Hayley Lettinga found
Hannah Gawne for a goal under a minute later to bring the score to 7-5 in favor of TCNJ with 4:46 to play in the first half. With just under three minutes to play, TCNJ tallied a goal that was answered by a goal for
Hannah Gawne from
Hayley Lettinga. The Lions looked to extend their lead heading into the break with a last second shot, but
Grace Hejeebu made the save to keep the deficit at two with Messiah trailing 8-6 heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
Hannah Gawne fired the first shot of the second half, but the TCNJ goalie was able to make the save. After nearly four minutes of scoreless action, the Lions found the back of the net to extend their lead to 9-6. After a second Lions goal,
Rachel Marshall had a shot on goal saved and
Grace Hejeebu made a save in goal for Messiah. The Lions tallied another pair of goals over the next two minutes to take a 12-6 lead with 4:51 to play. Hejeebu tallied a save before
Grace Pettitt notched a free position shot into the back of the net for TCNJ to hold a 12-7 lead with one quarter remaining.
Fourth Quarter
The Lions tallied a goal in the first minute before Messiah was quick to tally a pair with
Hayley Lettinga finding
Brynn Johnsen before
Grace Pettitt converted on a man-up, free position attempt to cut the deficit back to four at 13-9. The Lions extended their lead to 17-9 with four goals over the next eight minutes. The Falcons fired four shots in that time but were unable to find the back of the net. With 3:34 to play,
Hannah Gawne notched a goal on a free position attempt before
Annalise Keitel secured the draw control.
Hayley Lettinga then found
Dani Sauder to bring the score to 17-11 in favor of TCNJ with 3:00 remaining. TCNJ solidified their win with a free position goal with a minute remaining to earn the 18-11 win to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Stats
Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with four goals and an assist while
Hayley Lettinga added five assists.
Hannah Gawne tallied four goals, six draw controls, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
