The Muhlenberg women's lacrosse team ducked the bad weather but could not find its way past nationally ranked Messiah, dropping its season opener, 17-9, in a game that was moved from 1:00 to 11:00 to 4:30 to avoid the forecasted thunderstorms.

Senior Kelsey Nagle and junior Jordy Bonvini each scored three goals against the 17th-ranked Falcons, who in their last game took sixth-ranked Gettysburg to overtime.

Nagle gave the Mules an early 1-0 lead 1:33 into the game off a pass from senior Stephanie D'Ascoli, but Messiah reeled off the next seven goals and took a 10-2 lead into halftime. The second half was more even, with both teams scoring seven goals, but Muhlenberg never got closer than eight.

D'Ascoli added a pair of goals to her assist, and sophomore Amanda Tullo also scored a goal. Bonvini (pictured above) led the Mules with five draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Freshman Emma Charron assisted on the final goal for her first career point.