WATERVILLE, ME. – The nationally 10th-ranked Messiah women's lacrosse team broke open a close game at the break by scoring 8 of the first 10 goals of the second half and held off 13th-ranked Cortland, 16-12, in the third round of the NCAA Div. III Tournament at Colby College. The Red Dragons had their 14-game winning streak snapped and finished 14-2 on the season and tied for ninth nationally. The Falcons improved to 18-0 and advanced to face St. John Fisher College with the winner moving onto the "Final Four" in Salem, Virginia.

Senior Hannah Lorenzen (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) concluded her career with five goals to lead the Red Dragons. Lorenzen finished the season with a team-high 79 points on a team-best 61 goals and 18 assists in just 14 games and notched at least three goals in every game she played this season. Junior Hannah Keech (Penn Yan/Penn Yan Academy) netted two goals, while seniors Hannah Tiso (Somers) and Kayla Petre (Hauppauge), junior Amy Hoeffner (Bay Shore), sophomore Kiki Meager (Syracuse/West Genesee) and freshman Toni Cashman (East Moriches/Westhampton Beach) each scored a goal. Senior Cecilia Procopio (Syracuse/West Genesee) registered two assists and finished the season one short of 50 points with 12 goals and a team-high 37 assists.

Senior Paige Potter (Cortland) matched her career high with 14 saves and scooped up two ground balls for the Red Dragons. Lorenzen won six draw controls, junior Amanda Squillini (Stony Point/North Rockland) grabbed three ground balls and Keech, Meager and senior Kayla Sweeney (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) collected two ground balls apiece.
Lorenzen finished the season with 77 draws, which is tied for ninth best in a single season in program history.

Abby Howard and Rachel Delate led the Falcons with four goals each. Grace Gormley scored three goals, Hope Flack and Amanda Wadsworth netted two goals apiece, Ehryn Groothoff scored a goal and Makenzie Schnur picked up two assists.

Goalie Heather Burnham turned aside eight shots. Flack won eight draws, Groothoff secured five and Gormsley won four. Wadsworth added three ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Howard also caused two turnovers.

After Messiah opened a 2-0 lead, Cortland scored five of the next six goals for a 5-3 advantage with 12:06 remaining in the first half. The Falcons closed the half with five of the next six goals to take an 8-6 lead at the break.

The Falcons pushed their lead to 10-6 early in the second half, and the Red Dragons still trailed by four goals, 12-8, at the 17:26 mark. Messiah then went on a decisive four-goal run  in just over an eight-minute span to build a 16-8 lead with 8:16 to play. Cortland cut into the lead with goals from Petre and Keech, and Lorenzen netted a pair of goals to make it a 16-12 game at 2:19, but that ended the scoring as the Falcons advanced.

Messiah 16, Cortland 12

Team                       1-2       Final
Cortland                   6-6         12
Messiah                   8-8         16

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Hannah Lorenzen 5-0, Hannah Keech 2-0, Toni Cashman 1-0, Kiki Meager 1-0, Kayla Petre 1-0, Hannah Tiso 1-0, Amy Hoeffner 1-0, Cecilia Procopio 0-2
Messiah: Abby Howard 4-0, Rachel Delate 4-0, Grace Gormley 3-0, Hope Flack 2-0, Amanda Wadsworth 2-0, Ehryn Groothoff 1-0, Makenzie Schnur 0-2

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Paige Potter, 14 saves, (16 GA in 60:00)
Messiah: Heather Burnham, 8 saves (12 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Messiah 39, Cortland 24
Ground Balls: Cortland 13, Messiah 13
Clears: Cortland 22-of-25, Messiah 16-of-18
Draw Controls: Messiah 20, Cortland 10
Caused Turnovers: Messiah 10, Cortland 5
Turnovers: Cortland 18, Messiah 15

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 14-2 (ranked 13th nationally in Div. III); Messiah (Falcons) 18-0 (ranked 10th nationally in Div. III)