GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Ninth-ranked Gettysburg College made a statement in its first match up against a non-conference top-10 opponent in nearly two years, routing No. 8 Messiah University 17-7 at Clark Field on Wednesday night.
 
Final Result

Teams	1	2	3	4	4
#8 Messiah (1-1)	1	1	1	4	7
#9 Gettysburg (2-0)	3	4	5	5	17

 
Gettysburg's Top Performers

• Jordan Basso '24 (Rye, N.Y./Rye): 5 Goals, Assist, 2 Caused Turnovers
• Katie Fullowan '23 (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon): Goal, 2 Assists, 5 Draw Controls
• Sophie Smith '25 (Great Falls, Va./Langley): 3 Goals
• Maddi Seibel '22 (Newtown, Pa./Pennington School): 3 Goals
• Caroline Sullivan '24 (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe): 2 Goals, Assist
• Jenna King '24 (Millersville, Md./Severna Park): 3 Assists
• Nora Janzer '22 (Havertown, Pa./Haverford): 5 Draw Controls
• Shannon Twill '23 (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills): 13 Saves, 2 Ground Balls

 
Messiah's Top Performers

• Rachel Delate: 3 Goals
• Emma Lytle: 3 Goals
• Sadie Leonard: 4 Ground Balls, Caused Turnover
• Mackenzie O'Haver: 8 Saves

 
Game Summary…

• First Quarter  
  • Twill set the early tone by stopping an opening free-position attempt by Lytle just over two minutes into the contest, marking the first of five saves on free-position shots for the Gettysburg goalie in the game. Twill tacked on two more saves before Sullivan netted the first goal with 7:32 left in the first period.
  • Despite playing with one less player on the field, the Bullets punched home the game's second goal as King found a cutting Seibel at 2:36. Lytle answered just 19 seconds later, but King dished out another assist to Fullowan right before the buzzer to give the hosts a 3-1 lead.
• Second Quarter 
  • Gettysburg dialed in at the start of the second quarter, tossing in four goals in just five minutes. Basso closed the run with a pair of free-position shots to push the advantage to 7-1 with 10 minutes left before the break.
  • Two yellow cards left the Bullets down two people on the field in the final 3:35, but once again Twill stepped up with two more saves on free-position attempts, the second coming against Ehryn Groothoff with 2:23 left in the half.
  • Lytle managed to find a way around Twill inside the final minute to set the halftime score at 7-2.
• Third Quarter 
  • Twill opened the second half with two more stops and Basso converted off a feed from Fullowan just 1:14 into the period. Following a turnover by Messiah, Gettysburg came back the other way and Seibel found the back of the net off a pass from junior Gabi Connor (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) at 9:38.
  • After Messiah pulled to 9-3, Sullivan rocketed a free-position shot into the cage at 4:23. Smith and Seibel followed with goals 49 seconds apart to push the advantage to 12-3 entering the final period.
• Fourth Quarter  
  • Gettysburg made it a 10-goal advantage when Basso tossed in an unassisted tally at the start of the period. The Falcons rallied with three consecutive goals before the Bullets locked down defensively, holding the visitors to just one more goal over the final nine minutes of the game.
  • A four-goal run by Gettysburg capped by a pass from Basso to Connor made it an 11-goal lead with exactly two minutes left in the game.

 
By the Numbers

• Gettysburg connected on 17-of-29 (58.6) percent of its shot attempts. The Bullets held a slight lead in ground balls (16-15), while Messiah held the lead in draws (14-13). The hosts were perfect on 19 clear attempts and forced the Falcons into 18 turnovers.
• Gettysburg was playing its first top-10 non-conference opponent since beating No. 7 Salisbury University 12-11 in overtime on March 11, 2020. That was the team's final game before the rest of the season was cancelled due to the pandemic.
• The defending Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth champions, Messiah went unbeaten during the regular season and advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals in 2021. The Falcons' last regular season loss was against Franklin & Marshall College on March 4, 2020.
• Basso tied her career high for goals set last Saturday against Stevenson. The sophomore attacker was named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday and has tallied 12 points in the first two games this season.
• Twill set a new personal standard for saves against Messiah. The junior goalie's previous career high was 12 saves against No. 1 Franklin & Marshall College in 2021.

 
Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg improved to 18-0 in the all-time series with Messiah. The Bullets have out-scored the Falcons 68-22 over the last four meetings.
 
Next
Gettysburg hosts No. 12 Denison University on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m.