GRANTHAM, Pa. – Playing its second game in as many days, an exhausted fourth-seeded Lycoming College women's lacrosse team executed its game plan to near perfection in the first 40 minutes of its MAC Commonwealth Championship semifinal game against top-seeded Messiah College, which managed to pull away from a tie game in the final moments to post a 15-5 win at the Starry Athletic Complex on Wednesday night, May 3.
 
Heading into the second half down a goal, the Warriors (10-7 overall) won the draw control and slowed the pace of its offense, waiting for a critical moment to strike. Sophomore Kelly McGinniss (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) earned a free-position shot nearly five minutes into the possession, but the resulting shot from junior Jordan Lazarich (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) was saved. Lycoming forced a turnover in its offensive end, though, and moments later, senior Leanne Shaw (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) flew in from behind the crease off a give from McGinniss for the goal.
 
Lycoming won the ensuing draw and had two more possessions while keeping Messiah (14-2 overall), the fourth-ranked team in the country, at bay, but Ida Ehrhardt finally scored with 16:42 left and the Falcons won six of the next eight draws and scored eight straight goals before McGinniss scored with 2:29 left to make it 13-5. The Falcons added two more scores in the waning moments to make up the final margin.
 
In the first half, the Warrior defense was able to limit Messiah to just 10 shots and keep its pace languid. Messiah scored the first goal from Jenna Stover four minutes into the game, but Lycoming used free-position goals from Lazarich and McGinniss to take the lead with 14:37 left.
 
Messiah responded with three goals in the next 10 minutes, but Lycoming fought back and got possession with less than a minute left in the half. The extra possession led to McGinniss getting the ball, nearing the arc and finding a Messiah defender, before rushing back to her left to get a lane for a goal to make it 4-3 at halftime on just Lycoming's fourth shot of the stanza.
 
McGinniss led the Warriors with three goals, five draw controls, two groundballs and a caused turnover, as she finished the season with 68 goals, sixth in school history, 79 points, seventh in school history and 108 draw controls, second to her school history of 116 draws in 2016. She finished her sophomore year one draw shy of the school record of 225 set by Brooke Strausser (2010-13).
 
Lazarich added a goal, a groundball and a draw control, as she finished the year with 52 goals and 17 assists, giving her 201 points in her career, which is tied for fourth in school history, while her 199 draw controls are third, 62 assists are fifth and 139 goals are sixth.
 
Sophomore Kim Rutherford (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) and Victoria Siebecker (Cleona, Pa./Annville-Cleona) each had two caused turnovers.
 
Messiah was led by eight goals from Jenna Stover and Stephanie Athens added three goals and three assists. Ida Ehrhardt posted a goal, four assists and five draw controls.
 
Senior Nicole Gerling (Millstone Township, N.J./Allentown) (10-7) finished with five saves in 58 minutes before yielding to senior Casey Martindale (Davidsonville, Md./Archbishop Spalding), who stopped one shot.
 
Gerling finished her career as a four-year starter second in school history with 27 wins and 507 saves, while her 11.28 goals-against average is fifth and her 159 groundballs are eighth.
 
Alexa Dipeso (14-2) earned the win for the Falcons, making two saves.
 
Lycoming finished the season 10-7 overall under second-year head coach Karen Shaddock, reaching double-digit wins for the third straight year for the first time in program history. The Warriors also hosted a postseason game, the MAC Commonwealth Championship First Round, for the first time since 2007 and the 14-4 win over Lebanon Valley was the team's first postseason wins since 2010.