with Phil Naegely, GoMessiah.com reporter

Grantham, PA – Messiah College is readying to host the Knights of Arcadia in the Commonwealth Championships' Semifinal on Wednesday. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
Scouting the Falcons
 
The No. 2-seeded Falcons comes into this match losing 3-2 to William Smith—their lone home loss this season—and hold records of 13-5 overall and 7-1 in the Commonwealth. Their only conference loss came at the hands Elizabethtown College in late October.
 
On the offensive side, Messiah's 4.38 goals per game and 3.88 scoring margin in Commonwealth games are both best in the conference. On the national level, Messiah is 29th overall with a 3.49 scoring average.
 
Moriah Pfautz leads the Messiah attack with 20 goals and four assists. She's scored twice in a game five times this season and her 1.25 goals per game average is ranked 10th across the NCAA. She is also 23rd in the NCAA with an average of 2.69 points per game. In both of these categories she is second to SUNY Cortland's Gabrielle Stein among first-year players.
 
In addition to Pfautz, Messiah boasts five other double-digit point scorers; Brooke Sands (9g, 3a), Celina Nissley (8g, 3a), Rachel Cox (7g, 5a), Caroline Wulf (5g, 6a), and Gina Kellet (4g, 5a) all pose a threat to opposing defenses. Truly, Messiah puts forth a multi-dimensional and balanced plan across the field.
 
On the defensive side, Messiah holds a 1.33 goals against average (GAA)—t-30th best in the nation. In conference play Messiah earned four shutouts in nine games and finished with a 0.80 GAA. Molly Gebrosky has impressed as the last line of defense for the Falcons and carries a 0.760 save percentage and 1.44 GAA in the cage.
 
Scouting the Knights
 
No. 3 Arcadia rides a six-game winning streak into Wednesday's match and holds an overall record of 14-5 and 6-2 in conference play. Interestingly enough, Arcadia's last loss came at the hands of the Falcons.
 
In the conference Arcadia trails Messiah with a 1.68 scoring margin and a 3.29 scoring average. Similar to Messiah, Arcadia's offense is multi-dimensional. The Knights have five players with at least five goals with Debbie Wolfe leading the team with 11 goals. She also has collected five game-winners. Molly Goldstein, who has six goals, has delivered a team-best 11 assists.
 
Defensively, Arcadia has recorded four shutouts in conference play and boasts a 0.88 GAA—second-best behind the Falcons. Additionally, the Knights recorded three shutouts in non-conference play and have allowed just 20 goals this.
 
When They First Met
 
Messiah and Arcadia faced off on Oct. 12 on the Knights' home field. Despite getting off to a slow start, Messiah's strong second-half effort pushed them to a 2-1 win. Moriah Pfautz scored both goals in the tight victory, with her tally in the 63rd minute breaking a 1-1 tie. Additionally, goalkeeper Molly Gebrosky came up big with a number of stops, four of which went for saves.
 
Around the Commonwealth
 
In the other semifinal match, No. 4 LVC takes on No. 1 Elizabethtown in a rematch of the Blue Jays' only regular-season conference defeat this season. Wednesday's match between LVC and E-town is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start.
 
Messiah's Conference Championships History
 
Messiah has made 25 appearances in the MAC or Commonwealth Championships Final since 1984 and has won 19 titles. They have won every title since 2001 except for one, a 2-0 loss to Lebanon Valley in 2006.

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