Box Score GETTYSBURG, Pa. – It was a big day of upsets in Division III women's lacrosse, but sixth-ranked Gettysburg College was not among them as the Bullets held off Messiah College 13-8 at Clark Field on Saturday.
Each of the top three teams in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division III Preseason Poll – Salisbury University, Trinity (Conn.) College, and Middlebury College – fell to defeat on Saturday. Messiah (1-1) had an upset in mind as well and trailed Gettysburg (2-0) by just two (8-6) with over 23 minutes remaining.
After surviving a free-position shot by the Bullets, Messiah was unable to clear the ball up the field and the hosts came right back as freshman
Katie Landry (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) found the back of the net for the fourth time in the game to push the lead to three (9-6) with 22:28 to go.
Gettysburg continued to press offensively, but Messiah goalie Alexa Dipeso posted four saves over the next five minutes to maintain the deficit. The Bullets eventually found a way to the net as Landry dished it to senior
Mandy Buell (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) to up the lead to 10-6 with 17:35 left.
The Bullets maintained the three-goal advantage and picked up a pair of goals in the final 2:20 to set the final score.
Gettysburg appeared poised to run away with the game with two quick goals by Landry and junior
Abby Baigelman (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck. After a goal by Messiah's Jenna Stover, junior
Maggie Connolly (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) turned in back-to-back tallies to make it 4-1 with about 22 minutes left in the first half.
Landry made it 7-3 with an unassisted tally with 31 seconds left before halftime, but Messiah produced three of the next four goals to close the gap to two.
Gettysburg finished with a 34-14 edge in shots and a 25-13 lead in ground balls. Messiah held the lead in draw controls 12-10, but the Falcons were just 13-of-22 on clear attempts.
Landry finished with four goals and two assists, while Buell posted three goals and one assist. Connolly added three goals and senior
Bridget Kenny (Gladstone, N.J./Bernards) produced one goal, three assists, three ground balls, and five draw controls. Kenny moved into third place on the program's list for draw controls with 209 and trails No. 3
Amy Farrell '04 by just four.
Senior
Kate Higgins (Oreland, Pa./William Penn Charter School) played a huge hand in disrupting Messiah's transition game, finishing with five caused turnovers, five ground balls, and three draw controls. Seniors
Gretchen Boehmcke (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) and
Allie Clark (Wynnewood, Pa./Episcopal Academy) each finished with a pair of caused turnovers. Sophomore
Shannon Keeler (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) tallied three saves in the win.
Stephanie Athens posted three goals for Messiah. Stover added a pair of tallies, while Sam Babbitt dished out two assists. Dipeso finished with 13 saves.
Gettysburg will open its spring trip against Ithaca College on March 9 at 6 p.m. at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla.