Article Courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella

SCRANTON, PA -- The University of Scranton women's lacrosse team battled late but fell short as they lost 10-8 in the season opener against Messiah University on Friday night at Weiss Field. 

The Basics

• Final Score: Messiah – 10, No. 24 Scranton – 8 
• Records: Messiah (1-0), No. 24 Scranton (0-1)

How it Happened

• The Royals got the scoring started as senior Catherine McGlynn connected with graduate student Erin Reich who scored the first goal of the season with 8:29 to play in the first.
• After Messiah evened the score at 1-1, sophomore Eileen Hewitt scored on a free position shot to put Scranton back in front 2-1.
• The Falcons responded with a pair of goals to take a 3-2 lead, but senior Grace Lane scored her first goal of the night on a free position shot to tie the game at three apiece with just over a minute left in the first quarter. 
• With 7:43 to go in the second quarter in a player up scenario, Hewitt took a pass from Devyn Tanajewski and scored again, giving the Royals the lead at 4-3. The lead didn't last long, as Messiah tied it up again two minutes later.
• Both defenses stood tall to begin the second half until Lane drove through the Falcon's defense and bounced it into the goal to give the Royals a 5-4 lead with her second of the game in the sixth minute of the third.
• Messiah then scored six unanswered goals over the next quarter and a half, taking a 10-5 lead with 3:26 left in the game.
• Hewitt got the Royals closer with two goals in a span of 31 seconds, and sophomore Jillian Lopez scored her first of the game 36 seconds later, but the Royals' comeback fell short as they lost 10-8.

Top Performers

• Hewitt led the Royals with four goals and six ground balls, and she added three caused turnovers and three draw controls.
• Tanajewski paced Scranton with two assists and tallied two caused turnovers and two draw controls. 
• Senior goalie Lauren Boldis made a game-high 10 saves.

Inside the Box Score

• Messiah out shot Scranton 33-21.
• The Falcons won 11 draw controls, while the Royals won 9.
• Scranton had 12 caused turnovers and Messiah had seven.

Up Next
The Royals will play next on Feb. 26 against York College, with action slated to begin at 5:00 PM in York, PA.