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Grantham, PA - The Messiah College Falcons took advantage of an at-large bid into this year's NCAA Championships Tournament,
downing the RPI Engineers 18-8 to advance to the Regional Semifinals for the second consecutive season.
The Falcons now travel to Hartford, Conn., looking to advance further than any team has in program history. To do so, the Falcons will have to get by Colby College, a perennial top-10 team. Saturday's contest will mark the first ever meeting between the two schools. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.
The other matchup will feature the #5 Trinity College Bantums and the Buffalo State Bengals. Opening draw is slated for 11:30 a.m.
Saturday's winners will faceoff on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for a chance to enter the NCAA "Final Four" in Montclair, N.J., the following weekend.
Here is a quick look at the four teams from this weekend's regional matchups.
2012 NCAA Tournament Regionals - Hartford, Conn. - May 12-13, 2012
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#5 Trinity College Bantams |
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Location: Hartford, CT
Coach: Kathryn Livesay (6th season, 83-22 career record)
2012 Record: 17-1 overall, 9-1 NESCAC Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 8th
Last NCAA Appearance Result: NCAA Quarterfinals, Loss to Bowdoin 9-6
How the Bantams got here: The Bantams, appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years, advanced to the Regional Semifinals by defeating Bridgewater State University 16-1 in the tournament's opening round. The Bantams earned an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament after winning the NESCAC Conference Tournament. Trinity is led offensively by freshman midfielder Hadley Duncan- who had 53 points on 49 goals and four assists. The Bantams have three players with 40 or more goals on the season.
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#8 Colby College Mules |
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Location: Waterville, ME
Coach: Karen MacCrate Henning (5th season, 176-41 career record)
2012 Record: 14-2 overall, 9-1 NESCAC Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 6th
Last NCAA Appearance Result: NCAA Quarterfinals, Loss to Courtland State 15-4
How the Mules got here: The Mules entered the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket via at-large bid, advancing past the First Round with a convincing 21-5 win over Endicott. 2012 marks the fifth consecutive year the Mules have advanced past the NCAA first round. The Mules boast two 50-goal scorers on offense and have four players with 59 points or more on the season. Colby goalie Michelle Burt allowed just 7.57 goals against per game and is saving the ball at a .537 percentage.
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#10 Messiah College Falcons |
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Location: Grantham, PA
Coach: Heather Greer (5th season, 71-20 career record)
2012 Record: 16-3 overall, 6-0 Commonwealth Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 4th
Last NCAA Appearance Result: NCAA Regionals, Loss to Franklin & Marshall 7-4
How the Falcons got here: The Falcons advanced passed the First Round of the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row following a convincing 18-8 against RPI on Wednesday (5/9) in Grantham, PA. Messiah-- selected into the tournament via an at-large bid-- is looking to advance pass the Regional Semifinals for the first time in program history. The Falcons are led by senior Rachel Dirksen's 73 goals and 31 assists. Freshman Kelsey Luck has started in goal the last four games for the Falcons, going 3-1 in that stretch.
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Buffalo State Bengals |
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Location: Buffalo, NY
Coach: Meg Stevens (10th season, 87-50 career record)
2012 Record: 14-6 overall, 5-3 SUNYAC Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 1st
Last NCAA Appearance Result: None
How the Bengals got here: The Bengals made the best of their first-ever NCAA appearance by defeating the Springfield College Pride 18-10 in the first round. Karen Shaddock netted 10 goals of her own in the win to pace the Bengals and add to her season totals. Shaddock now has 106 goals on the season, a mark that leads all of the NCAA Division III. Shaddock isn't the only 100-point-getter on the Buffalo State squad- Kendall Clarkson has dished 86 assists for the Bengals while netting 35 goals on the year.
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