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Women's Soccer Prepares for Bombers, Sectionals Weekend

11/20/2013 2:00:00 PM


Messiah's All-Time NCAA Postseason Participation

Grantham, PA - Messiah College women's soccer will take on Ithaca College in the NCAA Sectionals at William Smith this weekend, bidding for their 10th-straight trip the Final Four. The Falcons and Bombers will play on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 p.m.

A quick glance at the match-ups reveals a historical "who's who" of NCAA Division III women's soccer. In the 27-year history of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships Tournament, Messiah, Ithaca, William Smith, and TCNJ have put together these numbers:
School NCAA Appearances NCAA Finals Fours NCAA Championships
Messiah 14 10 5
Ithaca 24 6 2
William Smith 13 9 1
TCNJ 23 11 3

Further to this point, the four head coaches have combined for 1,486 wins at their respective schools.
 
William Smith and TCNJ will start things on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., with Messiah and Ithaca to follow at 1:30. The winners will oppose each other at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
 
Below, see a review of the teams.

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

Location: Grantham, PA
Coach: Scott Frey (14th season, 296-16-4 at Messiah entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 20-2-1, 9-0 Commonwealth Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 14th
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Lasell College 4-1 (at Messiah)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated Amherst College 2-0 (at Messiah)

Messiah as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Falcons are 2nd in GAA (0.258); 3rd in shutout percentage (0.783); and 37th in points per game (7.65).
 
Messiah Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Nikki Elsaesser is 17th in total goals (20) and 25th in total points (46); Audra Larson is 3rd in GAA (0.258).

How the Falcons got here: Messiah defeated Stevenson 1-0 to earn their seventh-straight Commonwealth Championship and qualify for their 14th-straight NCAA Championships Tournament. To open the NCAAs they scored three second-half goals to beat Lasell and then scored twice in the first-half to down Amherst.
 
Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year Nikki Elsaesser has scored three times already in the NCAAs and now leads the Falcons with 20 goals and 46 points. Corinne Wulf (7g, 6a) and Macaulay Soto (5g, 7a) have collected 20 points and 17 points, respectively, with Emily Schneider (5g, 4a), Marisa Weaver (6g, 2a), and Holly Burgard (1g, 9a) also hitting double-digit points. Altogether the Falcons' offense has scored 62 goals and takes 20.7 shots per game.
 
On the other side, the Messiah midfield and defense is limiting opponents to just 2.9 shots per game. Opponents have also scored just six goals, with Lasell scoring the only goal against the Messiah in their last nine games. Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Alicia Frey controls the Falcons' midfield with All-Commonwealth defenders Ali Rogers and Ashley Locke leading a defensive unit that has registered 18 shutouts. Keeper Audra Larson is the last line of defense and owns impressive GAA (0.258) and save percentage (0.800) numbers.
 
Messiah's losses this year came to rivals William Smith (1-0) and Johns Hopkins (2-1). Their lone (scoreless) draw came against Misericordia.
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Ithaca College Bombers (No. 7 NSCAA / No. 11 D3Soccer.com)

Location: Ithaca, NY
Coach: Mindy Quigg (20th season, 280-83-45 at Ithaca entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 18-2, 6-1 Empire 8
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 24th
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Penn. State-Behrend 3-0 (at Ithaca)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated No. 22 Rowan 1-0 (at Ithaca)

Ithaca as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Bombers are 4th in save percentage (0.911); 9th in GAA (0.397); and 10th in shutout percentage (0.700).
 
Ithaca Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Beth Coppolocchia is 7th in save percentage (0.908) and 11th in GAA (0.416).

How the Bombers got here: Ithaca earned their Division III-best 24th trip the NCAA Championships Tournament with a 3-1 win over Nazareth in the Empire 8 Championship. After scoring three goals in a First Round win over Penn. State-Behrend, the Bombers rode a direct kick from Anna Gray to slip past Rowan 1-0.
 
The score for 5'11" Gray was her fourth of the season, all of which have come on restart opportunities. She is just one of five Bombers with double-digit points this season, with Kelsey King (14g, 1a) atop that group. King has put through seven game winners and is putting an impressive 0.611 percent of her shots on goal. Ellyn Grant-Keane (4 game-winners) and Amanda Callahan (3 game winners) each have five goals this season, and Jackie Rodobaugh (4g, 2a) has put 0.676 of her shots on frame.
 
Despite the firepower, Ithaca has scored just 43 goals this season; however, they've relented just eight tallies to their opponents. They're also holding teams to just 10.0 shots per game. Gray—the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year— has much to do with that along with keeper Beth Coppolechia (9 shutouts). Impressively, two of those shutouts were against 2012 Final Four participants Emory (2-0) and Misericordia (1-0).
 
The Bombers' only two losses this year were to William Smith (1-0) and conference-rival St. John Fisher (2-1); the loss to Fisher was followed up a week later with a 6-2 win in a rematch.

Snapshot History of Messiah and Ithaca
Messiah's Record: 3-1-0
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 9-3 (scores only from last three games)
Last Game Played: Sept. 5, 2009 – 4-1 win for Messiah
Current Streak: Messiah, three wins
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William Smith College Herons (No. 3 NSCAA / No. 3 D3Soccer.com)

Location: Geneva, NY
Coach: Aliceann Wilber (34th season, 476-125-54 at William Smith entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 19-1, 8-0 Liberty League
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 13th
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Cabrini College 5-0 (at William Smith)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated Oneonta State 1-0 (at William Smith)

William Smith as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Herons are 2nd in shutout percentage (0.850); 4th in GAA (0.300); and 6th in save percentage (0.900).
 
William Smith Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Chelsea Dunay is 5th in GAA (0.304) and 10th in save percentage (0.898).

How the Herons got here: William Smith enters the Sectionals riding a 19-game win streak following a season-opening, 2-1 loss to TCNJ.  Earlier this month they defeated RIT 1-0 in the Liberty League Championship and, after rolling over Cabrini the First Round, slipped by Oneonta 1-0 in the Second Round.
 
The Herons have actually played against all three visiting teams to Cozzens Field this weekend, taking 1-0 wins over both Messiah and Ithaca along with the loss to TCNJ. 
 
William Smith has scored just 48 goals this season, but they're very balanced in their attack. Seven players have tallied at least eight points, with for players with at least 14 points. Madeline Buckey (8g, 6a) leads that group, with Liberty League Rookie of the Year Kara Shue (6g, 9a) just behind her. The Herons' offense is also dangerously efficient with a team shots on goal percentage of 0.524. To that point, all four of the Herons' top scorers have put at least 0.571 percent of their shots on frame, with Buckley, Krista Longo (6g, 3a), and MaryClaire Pelletier (5g, 4a) all above 0.614 percent.
 
Defensively, the Herons are stingy. They've allowed just six total goals this season while giving up just 6.0 shots per game to their opponents. Senior defender Olivia Zitoli took home Player of the Year honors in the conference while keeper Chelsea Dunay (14 shutouts) was tabbed co-Defensive Player of the Year.

Snapshot History of Messiah and William Smith
Messiah's Record: 3-1-2
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 11-2
Last Game Played: Sept. 7, 2013 – 1-0 win for William Smith
Current Streak: William Smith, one win
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The College of New Jersey Lions (No. 15 NSCAA / No. 9 D3Soccer.com)
Location: Ewing, NJ
Coach: Joe Russo (24th season, 434-53-33 at TCNJ entering Sectionals)
2013 Record: 18-2-2, 6-2-1 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 23rd
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Penn. State-Berks 2-0 (at TCNJ)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated Rochester Tech 1-0 (at TCNJ)

TCNJ as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Lions are 14th in GAA (0.440); 15th in shutout percentage (0.636); 21st in save percentage (0.875); and 31st in goals per game (2.91).
 
TCNJ Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Kendra Griffin is 19th in GAA (0.494) and 32nd in save percentage (0.865).

How the Lions got here: TCNJ played to a scoreless draw and took a penalty kick decision (4-2) over rival Montclair State University to win the NJAC Championship. The decision avenged a 1-0 loss to the Red Hawks from earlier in the season—just one of two losses the Lions have sustained in 2013.
 
The Lions' offense has generated 64 goals this season with NJAC Rookie of the Year Christine Levering (11g, 4a) leading seven double-digit points scorers. Levering also leads the team with five game-winners. Leigh Applestein (8g, 1a), Katie Lindacher (6g, 4a), and Sarah Marion (5g, 4a) follow Levering. The team's attack generates 23 shots per game, more than three times as many shots as their defense is giving up (7.0).
 
The TCNJ defense is led by NJAC Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Downs. Defender Lauren Giles was also named All-NJAC along with keeper Kendra Griffiths (9 shutouts).
 
The Lions' only other loss this season was to Rowan, 1-0 in the regular-season finale, and their only other tie was to Kean (1-1) in mid-October.

Snapshot History of Messiah and TCNJ
Messiah's Record: 5-8-0
Messiah's Goals For-Against: 7-3 (scores only from last seven games)
Last Game Played: Dec. 4, 2009 – 1-0 win for Messiah (National Semifinals)
Current Streak:  Messiah, three wins 




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