| No. 1 Messiah College Falcons |
 |
Location: Grantham, Pa.
Head Coach: Brooke Good (6th season, 104-24 career record)
2017 Record: 19-0
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 31st appearance (17th straight)
Last NCAA Appearance: 2016 National Champions
2017 NCAA First Round: Bye
 |
How they got here: Messiah College enters the NCAA tournament with an automatic qualifier (AQ) from the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons claimed the AQ after knocking off fourth-seeded Albright 5-0 in the semifinal before defeating 2-seed Alvernia for the third season in a row by a score of 2-1. Messiah is riding an incredible 41-game winning streak that dates back to last year's season-opening overtime defeat at the hands of defending Division II National Champion Shippensburg University.
Â
With four nonconference games against teams ranked in the NFHCA Top-20 this season, the Falcons played one of the toughest out-of-conference schedules in the country. Messiah withstood every test, bringing an unblemished 19-0 record into the NCAA tournament. Of the teams in this year's tournament field, Messiah faced and defeated No. 3 The College of New Jersey (2-1), No. 6 Salisbury (2-1 in OT), No. 10 Franklin & Marshall (3-1), and Juniata (7-0). The Falcons also took down No. 15 Catholic 4-0 (left out of 2017 tournament) and Division II No. 3 Shippensburg 4-0.
Â
What to know: True to their No. 1 ranking, Messiah is in the top-six in the nation in the majority of the Division III team statistics. On the offensive end, they are fourth in the country in goals per game (4.37), third in assists per game (2.74), fourth in points per game (11.47), sixth in penalty corners per game (11.74), and fourth with a scoring average of 4.35. Coupled with a top-ranked goals against average (0.58), the Falcons are second in scoring margin at 3.77. Also on the defensive side, Messiah is second in the nation with 0.58 shutouts per game (11 total).
The Falcons are the only Division III team with an unbeated record heading into the NCAA Tournament. Division I No. 1 University of Connecticut is the only other collegiate field hockey team without a loss this year, also with a record of 19-0.
Â
Messiah's offense is led by senior and one of Messiah's all-time best field hockey players, Carissa Gehman. Just named the 2017 MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year, Gehman is currently fourth in the country in goals per game (1.47, 28 total) and fifth in points per game (3.42, 65 total). Those marks are already tied for third-most and fourth-most, respectively, by any Messiah player in a single season. In a game against Stevenson this year, Gehman tallied five goals and 10 points, both Messiah program records. Also, in the MAC Commonwealth semifinal win last week, Gehman registered her 100th career goal, becoming just the 12th Division III field hockey player and second Messiah player to ever reach that distinction.
Gehman is joined on the attack by fellow senior Taylor Holt, who has recorded 11 goals and four assists for 26 points on the season. This is the third-straight year that Holt has scored at least 10 goals and fourth-straight with at least 20 points. Kezia Loht (7g, 5a, 19p) and Kristin Donohue (4g, 11a, 19p) have also been catalysts offensively, with Donohue's 11 assists leading the MAC Commonwealth and 15th in the nation. Sixteen different Falcons have scored a goal this year, and 13 have multiple tallies.
The back line is led by MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Shayna Landis and junior goalie Shelby Landes. The Falcons have shut down opponent offenses throughout the season, as evidenced by the nation's leading goals against average. Messiah has recorded a shutout in 11 of their 19 games, and held opponents to just one goal in seven of the remaining eight contests. Perhaps even more impressive, the Falcons have held opponents to just 2.7 shots per game, including zero shots in five games this year. Messiah averages 26.3 shots per game on the offensive end.
 |
| Washington & Lee University Generals |
|
|
Location: Lexington, Va.
Head Coach: Gina Wills (3rd season, 39-18 career record)
2017 Record: 15-4
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2nd appearance
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005 First Round, 2-0 loss to Montclair State
2017 NCAA First Round: 1-0 2OT victory over Denison
 |
How they got here: As the top seed in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), Washington & Lee fought off fourth-seeded Shenandoah 3-1 and second-seeded Lynchburg 2-1 in overtime to earn the ODAC automatic qualifying bid. The Generals have only lost four games this season, including tough losses to No. 4 Christopher Newport and a Denison squad that received votes in the latest NFHCA coaches poll. However, Washington & Lee got their revenge on the Big Red in the First Round on Wednesday, taking down Denison in a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory. With that win, the Generals are now riding an 11-game win streak into this weekend's matchup with Messiah.
Â
What to know: The Generals' offense is fueled by ODAC Player of the Year Haley Tucker. The junior has registered 40% of Washington & Lee's goal output this season with 20 goals and five assists on the year for 45 points. She cracks the top 25 nationally in goals per game (21st, 1.06) and points per game (23rd, 2.39). Tucker is joined on offense by sophomore Lauren Paolano, who has come up in the clutch often this season with half of her 14 goals recorded as game-winners. Senior midfielder Maggie Sands is the other General player with more than 10 points on offense, notching six goals and two assists for 14 points.
Washington & Lee has enjoyed greater success on their home turf this season, with a 10-1 record and a 1.01 goals against average in Lexington. On the road, they allow 2.46 goals per game and have been dealt three of their four losses.
The Generals are led on defense by junior goalie Ariyel Yavalar, who has started all 19 games for Washington & Lee this season, recording 90 saves and a 1.55 goals against average.
 |
| No. 6 Salisbury University Sea Gulls |
|
|
Location: Salisbury, Md.
Head Coach: Dawn Chamberlin (31st season, 485-115-8 at Salisbury)
2016 Record: 12-4
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 33rd appearance (24th straight)
Last NCAA Appearance: 2016 National Semifinals, lost to Tufts 1-0
2017 NCAA First Round: Bye
 |
How they got here: After advancing to the National Semifinals a year ago, Salisbury remains a perennial contender in the postseason with an astonishing 24-year streak of reaching the NCAA Tournament. They began this season ranked No. 3 in the NFHCA coaches poll, and have dropped three spots of the course of the year as a result of four losses.
However, all four of those shortcomings came against NFHCA top-15 teams: No. 1 Messiah, No. 15 Catholic, and twice to No. 4 Christopher Newport, once during the regular season and again in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championship game. Those tough losses and a huge win over No. 3 TCNJ were enough to grant the Sea Gulls an At-Large bid.
Â
What to know: The strength of Salisbury is on the defensive end, as they are 4th in the country in both shutouts per game (0.56) and goals against average (0.73). Senior goalie Tressie Windsor is among the nation's best in the cage, coming into tournament play fourth in the country with a save percentage of 0.840. She has six complete shutouts to her credit, including three in Salisbury's last five contests. Defender Jillian Hughes also chips in on the defensive half for the Sea Gulls, ranking fifth in the CAC with four defensive saves this season.
Offensively, the Sea Gulls are about as balanced as they come with eight different players scoring between three and nine goals on the year. The offensive attack is led by junior Emily Lemanski with a team-high nine goals and 23 points (five assists).
Tara Daddio (6g, 6a) and Natalie Wilkinson (7g, 4a) have also been catalysts on the attacking end, both with 18 points on the year.
 |
| No. 11 Trinity College Bantams |
|
|
Location: Hartford, Conn.
Head Coach: Anne Parmenter (17th season, 159-111 career record)
2017 Record: 13-6
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 8th appearance (2nd straight)
Last NCAA Appearance: 2016 Second Round, lost 2-1 to Ursinus
2017 NCAA First Round: 5-3 victory over Gwynedd Mercy
 |
How they got here: Trinity earned an at-large bid to this year's NCAA Tournament after navigating an incredibly tough conference schedule and advancing to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship. After dropping four of their first five games of the season, the Bantams have won 12 of their last 14, with both losses during that stretch coming to No. 2 Middlebury College, once during the regular season and again in the conference championship. Notable wins this year include 3-2 over No. 12 Williams in the NESCAC semifinals, 3-2 over No. 17 Bowdoin, 4-0 over No. 18 Amherst, 4-3 over No. 19 New England, and 3-1 over No. 20 Hamilton. In the Bantams' 5-3 First Round win over Gwynedd Mercy, they held the nation's leading scorer, Melissa Russo, to just one goal and no assists.
Â
What to know: Trinity's offense is led by two-time NESCAC Player of the Year Kelcie Finn. The senior forward is currently fifth in the country in goals per game (1.44, 29 total) and sixth in points per game (3.28, 67 total), and has recorded eight game-winning goals this season. In their First Round victory, Finn had a hand in all five of the Bantams' goals, notching a hat trick and assisting on both other scores.
Junior Chandler Solimine (10 goals, six assists) and first-year Kendall Brown (six goals, two assists) also help lead the offensive charge for Trinity. Sophomore Nicole Quinlan has handed out nine assists on the year as well, equating to an assists per game average of 0.50 that is fourth in the NESCAC and 26th in the nation.
Senior goalie Lori Berger has played every second of Trinity's 19 games this season. She has recorded 122 saves and four shutouts while posting a 1.89 goals against average. Her .774 saves percentage ranks second in the NESCAC. Junior Madison Guiffre has also chipped in on the defensive end for the Bantams, registering four defensive saves on the season.
 |
