SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna women's lacrosse team hung tough with No. 18 Messiah but ultimately fell short, dropping a 15-10 road decision.

The Crusaders (3-4) held a 5-4 lead 12 minutes into the game but fell behind 6-5 midway through the opening half and never again held a lead.

Brynn Reid (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) had a five-point afternoon with three goals and two assists. Annie McElaney (Natick, Mass./Natick) also added a hat trick while Kelcie Ehler (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) added two goals and two assists. Goalie Alyssa Rothman (Trooper, Pa./Methacton) racked up 11 saves in her 60 minutes of work.

Messiah (5-4) took an early 1-0 lead before McElaney tied the game at one six minutes into the half. Two minutes later, Reid again tied the game, this time 2-2, before the Falcons went up 4-2 at the 20-minute mark of the half.

SU proceeded to score three unanswered goals and Shannon Kinney's (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek) score with 17:58 to play put the Crusaders ahead 5-4.

Unfortunately, Messiah countered with a 5-0 run that turned that 5-4 SU lead into a 9-5 Messiah advantage. McElaney did net the final goal of the half to bring Susquehanna within three of the lead (9-6) at halftime.

The Falcons scored two goals over a 75-second span to open the second half and make it an 11-6 game. Reid and Meredith Crane (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) countered with back-to-back goals to again make it a three-goal game (11-8).

The teams traded goals for the next five minutes with Messiah holding a 13-10 lead with 16:12 remaining. The Falcons scored the final two goals of the game, though, to put the game out of reach.

Susquehanna is back in action on April 2 with a 4 p.m. game at Scranton.