Commonwealth Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 2, at Messiah College
No. 1 Messiah vs. No. 4 Alvernia, 8:00 p.m.
Tickets: Adults $5, Seniors $4, Students $2, Children 6-under Free
Grantham, PA – Messiah College men's soccer will look to earn their sixth-straight Commonwealth Championship this weekend, as they enter the annual league playoff with a No. 1 seed.
Season Snapshot
Name the statistic, and Messiah probably stands at the top. En route to completing their fourth-straight undefeated conference regular-season, the Falcons led the Commonwealth in shots, points, goals, assists, goals against average, shutouts, and even attempted corners. In some of those measures, it wasn't close. Case in point: Messiah scored 41 goals in the Commonwealth this season, almost twice as many as Elizabethtown's 22 goals scored.
Outside of the conference, Messiah was just as dominant. With an overall record of 17-0-1, the Falcons rank fifth in the nation in goals per game (3.38) and third in the nation in goals against average (0.33). For the fourth-straight season, Messiah enters the season ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll.
Scouting the Falcons
The Falcons are absolutely a complete team—with a top-flight defense ready to challenge the best offenses in the country—but their scoring output tends to grab the headlines. Looking at just Commonwealth games, Messiah players accounted for the top-three positions in shots (
Jeremy Payne,
Joshua Wood) and three of the top-four in points (same trio). Payne,
Mike Kovach, and Wood were second, third, and fourth in goals scored, respectively. Meanwhile, Thompson led the conference in assists. However you look at it, the Falcons' present as dangerous an attack as any other team in the country.
And on the opposite side of the field, the Falcons don't make it any easier. Sophomore keeper
Brandon West led the Commonwealth with a .833 save percentage, as Messiah also led the conference with a 0.44 goals against average. In collecting five shutouts over their nine conference games, the Falcons displayed an imposing bench that backed up their starting defensive unit of
Carter Robbins,
Josh Kremers,
Logan Thompson, and
Matt Kyne.
Scouting the Field
No. 4 Alvernia -- The Crusaders were middle-of-the-pack in the conference this year, finishing 5-5-0 while ranking fourth in goals, assists, and goals against average. Nevertheless, they are a talented team that has played Messiah tough on more than one occassion in recent history. Senior Kyle Martyn was sixth in league games in total points (13) while senior Ben Diller carried a 1.08 goals against average (third in the conference).
Alvernia arrives in the semifinal game by way of a 1-0 win over No. 5 Arcadia University in Wednesday's play-in game. Sophomore Alex Martyn netted the game-winner in the game's 27th minute.
No. 3 Lebanon Valley -- The Dutchmen placed third in the league in shots, goals, and assists this season, losing to Albright, Messiah, and Arcadia while also tying Elizabethtown. Senior James Clements was fifth in the conference with a 1.23 goals against average, while freshman Cam Alexander was second in the Commonwealth with 18 total points. Alexander led the conference with nine goals.
No. 2 Elizabethtown -- The Blue Jays placed behind the Falcons in a number of conference statistics, including shots, goals, assists, and goals against average. Their only loss in the Commonwealth this season was to Messiah, while they also tied Lebanon Valley 1-1 en route to a 7-1-1 record. Junior Zach Lee was eighth in the conference with a 1.22 points per game average, while senior Eric Carr was second in the conference with a 1.05 goals against average.
Messiah's Commonwealth Championships History
The Falcons earned their fifth-consecutive Commonwealth Championship in 2011, defeating Alvernia University 4-1. Over their five-year streak, the Falcons have outscored their opponents 17-2 in the conference final. In their program history, the Falcons have
made 16 appearances in the conference championship, winning 13 times.
