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Messiah Trounces Wilkes, Begins Prep For League Tournament
Senior Bethany Moskevitz scored four goals and came up with four draw controls against Wilkes.

Grantham, PA — With the MAC Conference Tournament just over a week away, the Messiah College women’s lacrosse team made a strong statement about its chances Saturday afternoon, handing Wilkes University a 17-7 defeat at Anderson Field.

A season-high eight players scored for Messiah (8-6, 5-2) en route to a 14-2 lead at halftime, causing Falcons head coach Heather Greer to reflect positively afterward: Messiah outshot the Colonels by a 31-11 count on the afternoon and scooped 26 ground balls to Wilkes’ 10, dominating from the start.

“We have really been focusing on playing as 20 for 60, or 20 individuals working as one team for 60 minutes,” Greer said. “Today was a great demonstration of that goal. It was fun seeing the team connect in offense, setting each other up to find the back of the net. We are constantly trying to build on our attack and are trying to get more connections, and today it was fun to see our motion attack work so well.”

Greer’s team scored the game’s first seven goals in a span of just three and a half minutes, as senior Bethany Moskevitz began her outstanding day in style. The attack knocked home the Falcons’ first goal of the game off an assist from classmate Jessica VanHook at the half’s 28:03 mark, going on to score three of the team’s first five tallies, en route to a season-best four scores on the afternoon.

Messiah kept the pressure firmly on Wilkes (5-8, 1-5) throughout the first period, responding to a pair of Colonel scores with an eight to nothing run over the first half’s final 20 minutes. VanHook scored three during that stretch, while seven of the Falcons’ 13 goals from the field were assisted.

Moskevitz led Messiah’s ball-control efforts early, coming up with four of the team’s 11 first-half draw controls.

“Bethany turned it on today going after it and scoring four goals for us but where she really dominated was in draw controls,” Greer said. “Possession of the draw was key for us today. We gained possession right away and maintained it almost for the entire first half. After tweaking our ride in yesterday’s practice, the team executed it really well today in trapping the ball or causing Wilkes to make a bad pass.  Our defense worked so hard to get it right back in our attacking end and never let up.”

Senior Kirstyn Wheeler and junior Brianne Brennan were the main contributors in that facet, combining for 14 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. As Greer swapped personnel liberally in the second half, the Falcons statistical dominance lessened. It’s control of the game, however, did not.

“Bri and Kirstyn tore it up in causing turnovers and coming up with ground balls,” Greer said. “Bri continues to read attackers' cradles so well and just strips the ball from those who think they have their crosse protected. Kirstyn has unbelievable hustle and makes every attacker feel uncomfortable when they have the ball. Our defense was focused on no fouls in the 8 (-meter) which they did a great job of throughout the entirety of the game.”

Moskevitz led the team with her four goals on five shots, while VanHook posted the same scoring line. Junior Jackie Dando and freshman Megan Bovenzi each added two scores, while Dando came up with a game-high two assists. Brennan picked up a season-high nine ground balls to go with eight caused turnovers, while Wheeler recorded five in each category.

“We have been really focusing on trying to finish strong, not only in each game but now as we look to finish our season,” Greer said. “With only one more week of regular-season play we hope to finish as strong as possible in hopes to be prepared for the conference playoffs.”

Messiah currently sits in third place within the league standings, as Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham (6-0) and Elizabethtown College (6-1) occupy the top two slots currently.

The Falcons will next face-off in a non-league game, hosting Frostburg State University Thursday afternoon. Game time is set for 4 p.m.