Grantham, PA - The Falcons are coming off a strong performance in the first round of the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Kenyon College 2-0 in Gambier, OH on Wednesday afternoon. This Saturday the Falcons will compete in the second round the tournament when they square off with Catholic University in Ewing, NJ.
Saturday's game will be a rematch of last year's NCAA first round game, when the Cardinals defeated the Falcons 2-1 in overtime in Washington, D.C. This year the teams will square off in the second round, on a neutral field.
The second round match-up is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Ewing, NJ on the campus of The College of New Jersey. The winner of the Messiah-Catholic game will face the winner of the TCNJ-SUNY New Paltz on Sunday afternoon with a trip to the Final Four at stake.
But first, the Falcons need to get through the Cardinals. Below is a snapshot of the upcoming match-up with Catholic. The game will be the second ever meeting between these two teams - with the previously mentioned 2013 tournament game being the first meeting.
| No. 19 Messiah College Falcons |
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Location: Grantham, PA
Head Coach: Brooke Good (3rd season, 47-15, .758 Winning Percentage)
2013 Record: 15-6, 5-2 Commonwealth Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 28th (45-27 entering Saturday, .625 Winning Percentage)
Last NCAA Appearance Result: 2013 First Round loss, 1-0 to Catholic
2014 NCAA Results: First Round: Beat Kenyon 2-0
How the Falcons got here: Messiah advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament by virtue of their victory in the Commonwealth Championship. In the first round the Falcons defeated the Kenyon Ladies 2-0, while out shooting the Ladies 18-8. Freshmen Talyor Holt and Carissa Gehman scored the two Falcons goal, Holt also assisted on Gehman's goal.
The Falcons are a young and talented bunch that have played to a 15-6 record on the season. All six of the Falcons' losses have come by just a single goal. Four of the Falcons' losses have come to teams ranked in the top six in the country (Salisbury, TCNJ, F&M, and Ursinus) and one came to No. 17 ranked, Lebanon Valley. They have outscored opponents 64-30 and have held opponents to just 9.7 shots per contest. The No. 7 Cardinals will be the 7th team ranked in the top 20 of the NFHCA poll that the Falcons have faced this season (1-5 in those games). The Falcons are currently ranked No. 19 in the most recent NFHCA poll.
The Falcons have a balanced attack with seven different players scoring at least nine points each, though Carissa Gehman leads the way with 26 goals (54 points). Gehman is No. 7 in the NCAA with a 1.25 goals per game average, while Moriah Pfautz (9g, 6a), Taylor Holt (9g, 6a), Becky Ely (4g, 6a) and Emily Rubright (5g, 4a) all have double-digit point totals. Kristin Donohue, Nicole Wilkerson and Ally Morgret have all added three goals a piece to contribute to the Falcons' No. 28-ranked 3.20 goals per game.
The Falcons have held opponents to 1.43 goals per game and a 0.599 shots on goal percentage. In turn, Messiah is taking 17.4 shots per game and have outshot their opponents 365-202 on the season.
In the cage for the Falcons is senior Carly Day. In Day's first year with the Falcons she has started all 21 games and holds a 1.46 goals against average and 0.732 save percentage. Day was recently named the Most Valuable Player in the Commonwealth Conference tournament where she recorded two shutouts and made four saves. In the first round against Kenyon Day made three saves and earned the shutout. Day has only allowed one goal in her last 487:42 in goal and has made 21 saves in the stretch.
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| No. 7 Catholic University Cardinals |
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Location: Washington, D.C.
Head Coach: Gia Cillizza (13th season, 162-89, .645 Winning Percentage)
2013 Record: 15-3, 7-1 Landmark Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 4th (3-3, .500 Winning Percentage)
Last NCAA Appearance Result: 2013 Third Round Loss 1-0 to Christopher Newport
2014 NCAA Results: First Round: Bye
How the Cardinals got here: The Catholic Cardinals fell just short of their fourth consecutive Landmark Conference Championship, when they fell 1-0 to Juniata in the conference title game. Despite the loss, Catholic was awarded one of the five at-large bids into the NCAA Championships and also received a first-round bye.
Catholic has played to a very strong record of 15-3 overall and 7-1 in conference. All of the Cardinals losses have come in one-goal decisions. They fell 1-0 to Mary-Washington in mid-September and 2-1 to Juniata to wrap up the regular season before falling to Juniata again in the conference championship game.
The Cardinals have some strong wins on their resume. With victories over then No. 15 Christopher-Newport (1-0), the No. 1 Salisbury on the road (3-1), and then No. 6 Ursinus on the road (3-2 OT). The match-up with the Falcons with be the Cardinals' 5th against a team ranked in the NFHCA top-20 (3-1).
The Cardinals are lead by seniors Maura Campbell (7g, 5a) and Colleen Harwood (6g, 5a) with 19 and 17 points respectively. While the Cardinals' offensive is not over powering (2.56 goals per game), they do have a balanced attack. Seven players have double-digit point totals on the season and 13 different players have scored at least one goal. Rebecca Lukaszcyk (4g, 5a), Ellen Thorburn (4g, 4a), Tarah Portland (5g, 0a), Kiera McGovern (2g, 6a) and Kim Hermann (4g, 2a) all have double-digit point totals and provide balance to the Cardinal attack.
What the Cardinals don't score on the offensive end, they make up for on the defensive end. Tarah Portland and Allison Stevens lead a defensive unit that has only allowed 16 goals on the year good enough for a .840 goals against average.
In cage for the Cardinals is sophomore Analisa Scott. Scott ranks 7th in the country in goals against per game, allowing only .82 goals per contest. She has started in all 18 games and has made 58 saves on the year, while allowing only 14 goals for a, .806 save percentage (28th in the country).
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