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Women's Soccer Prepares for Lasers, NCAA Opening Weekend

11/13/2013 2:45:00 PM


Grantham, PA - Messiah College women's soccer will begin the defense of their 2011 and 2012 National Championships when they host Lasell College on Saturday, Nov. 16 in the First Round of the 2013 NCAA Championships Tournament. Game time is set for 11:00 a.m., with the winner to advance to Sunday's Second Round game at 1:30 p.m.

The other two teams joining Messiah this weekend are Amherst College and Springfield College. Those two teams will play on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

See below for a preview of the team's competing at York this weekend. You can also find more information, including links to live stats, radio, and video on the weekend homepage.

No. 9 NSCAA / No. 8 D3Soccer.com Messiah College Falcons

Location: Grantham, PA
Coach: Scott Frey (14th season, 294-16-4 at Messiah)
2013 Record: 18-2-1, 9-0 Commonwealth Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 14th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 National Champions (1-0 win over Emory)

How the Falcons got here: Messiah earned their seventh-straight Commonwealth Championship to qualify for their 14th-straight NCAA Championships Tournament. The Falcons defeated Stevenson University this year in the conference final thanks to a second-half goal from Alicia Frey.
 
Frey is an All-American from 2012 that earned the 2013 Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year for her work in the midfield. Teammate Nikki Elsaesser took home Offensive Player of the Year honors and leads six double-digit point scorers with 17 goals and four assists. Corinne Wulf (6g, 6a) is also an accomplished offensive weapon for the Falcons, with Macaulay Soto (5g, 6a), Emily Schneider (5g, 4a), and Marisa Weaver (6g, 2a) sure to be handful for Messiah's opponents. Holly Burgard leads the team with eight assists and five others have collected at least six points this season.
 
Though the offense gets most of the attention, Messiah's defense should not be overlooked. They've allowed just five goals in the regular-season for the second-straight year and hold an NCAA No. 3-ranked 0.236 goals against average (GAA). The Falcons are No. 4 in the NCAA with a 0.810 shutout percentage and have held opponents to five-or-less shots in 18 of 21 games.
 
Along with Frey, defenders Ali Rogers and Ashley Locke lead the back line that should pose a challenge to any offense they'll see in the postseason. In the net is keeper Audra Larson who has played every minute this season and holds an impressive .808 save percentage.

Messiah's only two losses have come to perennial powerhouses-- and rivals-- Johns Hopkins (2-1) and William Smith (1-0). They also played to a scoreless tie with Misericorida.
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Lasell College Lasers

Location: Newton, MA
Coach: Vito La Francesca (7th season, 92-36-10 at Lasell)
2013 Record: 17-3-1, 10-0-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 4th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 Second Round, 3-0 loss to Brandeis

How the Lasers got here: Lasell recorded a program-record 17 wins en route to their fourth-straight GNAC title. The Lasers defeated Suffolk 6-1 in the conference final behind a hat-trick from leading scorer Bridget Lynch.
 
Lynch was named the GNAC Player of the Year after setting program-best marks in goals (33) and points (73). She leads the team with nine game-winning goals, has scored in all but five of the team's games, and has even tallied double-digit points in two different games. She's also put an impressive 0.655 percent of her shots on frame. Bridget's twin sister Kayla Lynch is second on the team with 30 points (12g, 6a) while Devon Day (8g, 8a) also earned All-GNAC honors from the midfield.
 
The Lasers' defense is actually giving up more shots per game to their opponents (21.6 to 20.7), but keeper Leah Pappalardo (17 starts) carries a 0.827 save percentage and a 0.83 GAA.
 
The Lasers' only three losses this year came to Brandeis (3-2 OT), Endicott (1-0), and Swarthmore (3-1).
 
This is the first meeting ever between Messiah and Lasell.
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Amherst College

Location: Amherst, MA
Coach: Jen Hughes (10th season, 114-33-24 at Amherst)
2013 Record: 9-3-3, 5-2-3 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 13th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 First Round loss, 3-1 to Lasell

How the Lord Jeffs got here: Amherst received an at-large bid after losing 2-1 to Trinity College in the NESCAC. The loss for Amherst was their second-straight to Trinity in as many games, as they also lost 1-0 in the final game of the regular-season. Amherst has recent history with each team at Messiah this weekend, as they beat Springfield 4-0 this year, lost 3-1 to Lasell in last year's NCAA First Round, and lost 3-1 to Messiah in the 2011 NCAA Sectional Final.
 
Amherst has allowed just eight goals this season, and keeper Holly Burwick leads the way with a NCAA No. 6-ranked 0.919 save percentage and No. 9-ranked 0.34 GAA. Megan Kim (9g, 1a) has tallied almost one-third of the team's 30 goals, while Sarah Duffy (5g, 5a) and Hannah Cooper (5g, 3a) are also in double-digit points.
 
The Lord Jeffs' only loss outside of Trinity has come in overtime to Tufts by a 2-1 score. They've also played to scoreless draws with Bowdoin, Williams, and Wesleyan.
 
If Messiah and Amherst are able to advance, they will face each other for the only second time ever. The aforementioned first meeting came in 2011 in the Sectional Finals, a 3-1 win in which Erin Hench scored three times en route to setting the NCAA Tournament records for goals (8) and points (20).
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Springfield College

Location: Springfield, MA
Coach: John Gibson (14th season, 178-79-25 at Springfield)
2013 Record: 13-4-4, 6-1-3 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 7th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 First Round loss, 1-0 to SUNY Cortland

How the Pride got here: Springfield won the NEWMAC in dramatic fashion, edging MIT 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout after playing scores through 110 minutes. Springfield is making its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAAs.
 
Like Amherst, Springfield's defense leads the way. They've allowed just 16 goals this season, with keeper Lucy Gillett (15 starts) carrying a 0.79 GAA and 0.733 save percentage. Backup keeper Sarah Myers (six starts) holds a 0.67 GAA and 0.833 save percentage.
 
Vicky DiNatale and Lauren Muser each earned All-NEWMAC honors for their defensive work while midfielder Ashley Carresi did the same after finishing second on the team with nine points (3g, 3a). Nina Vital led the team with 12 points by way of six goals.
 
The Pride were shutout in three of their four losses (Amherst 4-0; Williams 2-0; Wheaton, Mass. 1-0) and also played to three draws against conference opponents.
 
If both Messiah and Springfield are able to advance, they will face each other for the first time in program history.




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