11-20-13-main

Falcons Preparing for Kenyon as Sectionals Approach

11/20/2013 8:00:00 AM


Sectionals Weekend Page  |  Messiah's All-Time NCAA Postseason Participation

Grantham, PA - Messiah College men's soccer will look to earn their 12th trip to the Division III Final Four since 2000 when they host the NCAA Sectionals this weekend on Shoemaker Field. The Falcons will take on Kenyon College on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

Franklin & Marshall College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will also play on Saturday (7:30 p.m.) with the two winners to play on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. The winner of Sunday's game will qualifiy for the trip to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

Below, see a review of each team playing at Messiah this weekend.

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

Location: Grantham, PA
Coach: Brad McCarty (5th season, 108-4-4 at Messiah entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 18-1-1, 9-0 Commonwealth Conference
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Centenary College 9-1 (at Salisbury)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated No. 15 Salisbury College 3-0 (at Salisbury)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 25th (68-12-5 all-time including 2013)

Messiah as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Falcons are 3rd in points per game (9.77), goals per game (3.50), total goals (77), and total points (215); 4th in total assists (61); 5th in assists per game (2.77); and 11th in goals against average (0.54).
 
Messiah Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Joshua Wood is 7th in points (45), 8th in goals (20), 12th in goals per game (0.91), and 17th in points per game (2.05); Jack Thompson is 6th in assists per game (0.74) and 7th in total assists (15); Jeremy Payne is 31st in total points (36) and 40th in total goals (14); Mike Kovach is 34th in total assists (9) and 39th in assists per game (0.45); Brandon West is 10th in goals against average (0.507).

How the Falcons got here: Messiah woke up from a nine-day layoff by scoring 12 goals in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament—their highest total ever in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games. The Falcons are unbeaten in their last 13 games (12-0-1) and can dominate games on offense, defense, and in the midfield. Their lineup includes seven double-digit scorers led by Joshua Wood (20g, 5a), Jeremy Payne (14g, 8a), and Jack Thompson (5g, 15a). Mike Kovach (5g, 9a) has also provided big goals in his NCAA Tournament career while Sheldon Myer and Brian Ramirez have combined for eight goals and seven assists. Danny Brandt leads the second unit with seven goals.
 
Messiah is attempting more than four times as many shots per game as their opponents (23.7 to 5.2), but the Falcons' lone offensive weakness might be a 0.428 shots on goal percentage. This proved true in their draw with Lycoming two weeks ago as they put only seven of their 32 shots on frame. Still, teams have struggled to play straight up with the Falcons as they present a speed of play that most teams cannot match.
 
The Falcons' skill is also evident—and some would say starts—in their backfield. Matt Kyne, Carter Robbins, Drew Frey, and Josh Kremers have 85 of a possible 88 starts between them, while Brandon West has again played as one of the nation's best in the net.

Messiah's only loss this year came 1-0 at York College.
.
Kenyon College Lords

Location: Gambier, OH
Coach: Chris Brown (9th season, 93-53-23 at Kenyon entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 16-4-3, 6-0-3 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated No. 19 Ohio Northern 2-0
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated No. 8 Wheaton College (Ill.) 2-1
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 13th (14-12-0 all-time including 2013)

Kenyon as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Lords are 13th in total points (163); 15th in total goals (58); 16th in total assists (47); 29th in assists per game (2.04); 32nd in points per game (7.09); and 38th in goals per game (2.52).

How the Lords got here: Kenyon received an at-large bid from the NCAC and has just a single loss in their past 12 games (9-1-2). They have already played against five ranked teams this season, going 2-2-1 in those contests. Two of those games were against conference rival No. 1 Ohio Wesleyan, who was ousted from the NCAAs on Sunday by Rose-Hulman. The Lords tied OWU 1-1 in the regular-season before losing 3-1 in the NCAC final.
 
Kenyon rebounded from the conference loss to beat No. 19 Ohio Northern and No. 8 Wheaton (Ill.), scoring twice in each game.
 
The Lords boast eight double-digit scorers led by freshman and NCAC Newcomer of the Year Tony Amolo (11g, 8a). Amolo also leads the team with five game-winners, including the winner in their victory over Wheaton. Jeremiah Barnes (5g, 8a) and Rei Mitsuyama (6g, 6a) are tied for second on the team in points while Alistair Flynn (7g, 3a) and Jordan Glassman (7g, 2a) provide even more spark for an offense ranked 13th in total points. Flynn and Glassman have also proven dangerous with 0.588 and 0.667 shot on goal percentages, respectively.
 
The Lords have also proven dangerous after halftime, as they've scored 36 of their 58 goals have come after the break.
 
Midfielder Andrew Parmelee (5g) and defender Sam Justice (2g, 2a) are two more of the eight All-NCAC players, and are largely responsible for limiting Keynon's opponents to just 10 shots per game. Freshman keeper Sam Clougher has made 21 starts and carries a 0.80 GAA and 0.788 save percentage.
 
Outside of their loss to OWU, the Lords also dropped matches to Kean (2-1 in overtime), Centre (2-1), and Heidleberg (3-2). They also tied then-No. 9 DePauw (0-0) and Oberlin (0-0).

Snapshot History of Messiah and Kenyon
Messiah's Record: 0-1-0
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 1-2
Last Game Played: Aug. 31, 1996 - 2-1 win for Kenyon
Current Streak: Kenyon, one win
.
Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats (No. 14 NSCAA / No. 19 D3Soccer.com)

Location: Lancaster, PA
Coach: Dan Wagner (12th season, 123-66-27 at F&M entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 16-3-2, 5-3-1 Centennial Conference
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Catholic University 1-0
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated Dickinson College 3-0
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 4th (3-3-0 all-time including 2013)

F&M in Top-40 National Statistics: The Diplomats are 13th in shutout percentage (0.57); 14th in GAA (0.60); and 36th in save percentage (0.841).
 
F&M Players in Top-40 National Statistics: TJ White is 15th in GAA (0.558).

How the Diplomats got here: F&M won its first-ever Centennial Conference Championship with a 2-1 win over Dickinson, and have advanced now to their first-ever Sectional Semifinal. Interestingly, F&M defeated Dickinson three times this season, with their goals against the Red Devils (nine) accounting for almost a quarter of their season's tallies (37).
 
F&M enters the weekend on a seven-game win streak and is led by Centennial Player of the Year David Rosenfield. He controls a backfield that has allowed just 15 goals and ranks 14th in the nation with a 0.60 GAA. Fellow Centennial First Team members Chris Scott and TJ White have also been dominant defenders, with White's 0.558 GAA good for 15th in the nation.
 
Ben Beaver (13g, 2a) is the Diplomats' leading scorer, with Chase Tenbrook (4g, 2a) being the only other player to reach double-digit points. The offense has scored more than two goals only five times this season, but they've also been shutout just twice.
 
The Diplomats have dropped matches to Muhlenberg (1-0), Ursinus (2-1 in overtime), and Haverford (3-1). They've also tied Elizabethtown (0-0) and Johns Hopkins (1-1).

Snapshot History of Messiah and F&M
Messiah's Record: 17-1-3
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 61-13
Last Game Played: Sept. 11, 2002 - 5-0 win for Messiah
Current Streak: Messiah, 16 wins
.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers
rose-hulman

Location: Terre Haute, IN
Coach: Sean Helliwell (6th season, 77-34-16 at Rose-Hulman entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 12-5-5, 6-1-2 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC)
2013 NCAA First Round: Tied 0-0 (9-8 PK) over Penn. State-Behrend (at Penn. State)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated No. 1 Ohio Wesleyan Univ. 1-0 (at OWU)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 3rd (1-2-1 all-time including 2013)

Rose-Hulman in Top-40 National Statistics: The Fightin' Engineers are 5th in save percenatage (0.880); 6th in GAA (0.47); and 10th in shutout percentage (0.59).
 
Rose-Hulman Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Drew Miller is 6th in GAA (0.490) and 12th in save percentage (0.878); Drew Belk is 31st in total goals (15).

How the Fightin' Engineers got here: Rose-Hulman shocked most of the Division III soccer world with their 1-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan in the Second Round. The upset may remind Messiah fans of their loss to Neumann in 2011 but unlike the Knights' overtime stunner, the Fightin' Engineers scored in the early minutes and held on to beat the No. 1-ranked Battling Bishops. (Read more about the upset here on D3Soccer.com.)
 
Though they've won just 12 of 22 games and were unexpected to reach the Sectionals, Rose-Hulman is far from a Cinderella. They boast a defense ranked 6th in GAA (0.47), 5th in save percentage (0.880), and allow just 9.8 shots per game to their opponents. Impressively, they've now collected 13 shutouts this season against 11 total goals allowed.
 
A big reason for their defensive dominance has been the play of keeper Drew Miller. The junior netminder has recorded nine shutouts while accumulating a 0.490 GAA and 0.878 save percentage.
 
The Rose-Hulman offense is led by senior forward Drew Belk (15g, 3a). He's already totaled more goals this season than the previous three years combined (13) and carries a 0.518 shot on goal percentage. William Senat (8g, 5a, 0.547 shots on goal) and Ben Green (3g, 8a, 0.647 shots on goal) are the only other players with double-digit points but, in tune with their leading scorers, the entire team carries a 0.513 shot on goal percentage.
 
Rose-Hulman dropped matches this season with DePauw (2-0), Centre (1-0 in double overtime), Illinois Wesleyan (2-1), North Park (1-0), and Earlham (1-0). They also tied Wabash (1-1), Greenville (0-0), Transylvania (1-1), Hanover (0-0), and Penn. State-Behrend (0-0).

Snapshot History of Messiah and Rose-Hulman
Messiah and Rose-Hulman have never met.




Related Videos

Now Playing: