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Falcons on the Road to Start NCAA Tournament

11/14/2013 2:00:00 PM


Grantham, PA - Messiah College men's soccer will take the field this weekend to start the 2013 NCAA Championships Tournament. The Falcons are the defending National Champions, but will play a First Round game for the first time since 2008 after taking an early exit from the Commonwealth postseason.
 
Messiah will oppose Centenary College (at Salisbury) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that game will move to Sunday's Second Round match-up with either Salisbury or Greensboro. Game time on Sunday is also set for 1:30 p.m.
 
See below for a preview of the team's competing at Salisbury this weekend.

No. 4 NSCAA / No. 3 D3Soccer.com Messiah College Falcons

Location: Grantham, PA
Coach: Brad McCarty (5th season, 106-4-4 at Messiah)
2013 Record: 18-1-1, 9-0 Commonwealth Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 25th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 National Champions (5-1 win over Ohio Northern)

How the Falcons got here: Messiah fell short of winning their seventh-straight Commonwealth Championship when they were upset in penalty kicks by Lycoming College in the conference semifinals. That game was just the second this season that Messiah failed to score a goal, the other being a 1-0 loss to York in Sept.
 
Brad McCarty was named the conference Coach of the Year while nine players earned All-Commonwealth recognition. Joshua Wood (17g, 4a) and Jeremy Payne (13g, 8a) lead five double-digit scorers, with Messiah having eight players with eight-plus points. Jack Thompson leads the team with 14 assists, with Payne and Mike Kovach also having at least seven assists. The offensive firepower, as shown, is not impossible to stop, but it's a big challenge considering the Falcons' depth and breadth of talent.
 
Messiah's defense has also been a strength this season, with the Falcons ranked No. 11 in the NCAA with a 0.55 goals against average (GAA). Brandon West is also No. 11 individually with a 0.499 GAA and has saved 0.775 percent of shots. West has also proven to be capable—both last season and this season—of turning away penalty kicks.
 
Carter Robbins and Matt Kyne are in the center of the defense and lead a back line that has allowed Messiah to outscore opponents 65-11 and take almost fives times as many shots each game (23.6 to 4.8).
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Centenary College Cyclones
5
Location: Hackettstown, NJ
Coach: Keith O'Connor (10th season, 71-89-10 at Centenary)
2013 Record: 12-5-3, 8-1 Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 1st
Last NCAA Appearance: n/a

How the Cyclones got here: Centenary won their first-ever CSAC title with a 1-0 win over Marywood in the conference final. They're unbeaten in their last 10 games (9-0-1) and are making their first appearance in the NCAA Championships Tournament.
 
Keith O'Connor was named the CSAC Coach of the Year after leading the program to 12 wins for the first time since 1999. Quinn Khouri leads the Cyclones with 20 points (7g, 6a) and was named First Team All-CSAC. He put an impressive 0.578 percent of his shot on frame this season. Three others also collected All-CSAC honors, including Luis Martin (6g, 4a), keeper Jesse Goleman, Reid Meeker, and Nick Telle. Goleman made 19 starts and holds a 0.822 save percentage and 0.94 GAA.
 
Centenary is almost even in shots per game (13.9 to 13.6) while being exactly even in goals scored vs. goals allowed (30) to their opponents.
 
The Cyclones' five losses came to Lebanon Valley (5-0), Eastern (3-0), FDU-Florham (9-2), Briarcliff (1-0), and Marywood (2-1).

Snapshot History of Messiah and Centenary
Messiah's Record: 0-0
Messiah's Goals For-Against: n/a
Last Game Played: n/a
Current Streak: n/a
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No. 15 NSCAA / No. 9 D3Soccer.com Salisbury University

Location: Salisbury, MD
Coach: Gerry DiBartolo (32nd season, 386-172-52 at Salisbury)
2013 Record: 17-3, 8-0 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 11th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 First Round tie, PK elimination to Neumann University

How the Sea Gulls got here: Salisbury received an at-large bid to the NCAAs after falling to York College 1-0 in the CAC final. The Sea Gulls had beaten York 3-1 during the regular-season, finishing 8-0 in the conference. Entering the conference final, Salisbury was also riding a 12-game win streak.
 
Long-time head coach Gerry DiBartolo has seen his team scored at least two goals in 14 of their 20 games this season, with their only shutout coming to York. They boast seven double-digit scorers and have outscored their opponents 39-8. They're outshooting opponents 19.8 to 8.65 and sit at No. 5 in the NCAA with a 0.39 GAA.
 
Keeper Drew Staedeli is No. 6 in the nation with a 0.426 GAA and No. 19 with a 0.869 save percentage. He backs up an offense led by Tanner East (8g, 2a, 0.500 shot on goal percentage) and Matt Greene (4g, 5a, 0.593 shot on goal percentage). Five others, including Stephen Poorman (6g) and Trevor Sharpe (4g, 4a) have scored at least 11 points.
 
The Sea Gulls' only losses this year came to Rutgers-Camden (2-1), Lynchburg (2-1), and York.

Snapshot History of Messiah and Salisbury
Messiah's Record: 2-0-1 (Salisbury won the lone penalty kick shootout in 2003 NCAA Sectional Semifinal)
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 2-0
Last Game Played: Nov. 26, 2004 – Messiah 1-0, NCAA National Seminal
Current Streak: Messiah, one win
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Greensboro College

Location: Greensboro, NC
Coach: John Trice (3rd season 28-17-11 at Greensboro)
2013 Record: 13-5-2, 6-3 USA South Confernce
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 15th
Last NCAA Appearance: 2007 Second Round loss, 4-0 to Messiah College

How the Pride got here: Greensboro won the USA South Championship with a 2-1 decision over Methodist. They're making their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but just their first since 2007.
 
Three of their five losses came within the USA South, but they were also shutout in four of their five defeats. They outscored their opponents 41-16 and have put 0.525 of shots on frame. They also boast six players with double-digit points.
 
Leading scorer Shaun Watt (9g, 2a) was named USA South First Team and put an impressive 0.655 of his shots to the goal. Keeper Manbi Neypon was also named First Team and carries a 0.811 save percentage. In 13 starts Neypon holds a 1.05 GAA. Backup keeper Logan Rohde has made five starts since Oct. 12 and carries a 0.26 GAA.
 
Craig Gage (5g, 3a) and Kyle Giscombe (5g, 5a) were also First Team players.

Snapshot History of Messiah and Greensboro
Messiah's Record: 3-2-1 (lone draw was regular-season)
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 10-6
Last Game Played: Nov. 10, 2007 – Messiah 4-0, NCAA Second Round
Current Streak: Messiah, one win




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