MAC Commonwealth Tournament Home PageGrantham, PA – Messiah College men's soccer will begin another postseason journey this Wednesday, Nov. 4 when they host Lebanon Valley in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal. The contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
Season SnapshotThe Falcons earned the No. 2 seed in the MAC Commonwealth thanks to a 7-1 record against conference competition. Their only loss came to No. 1-seeded Lycoming College, a 2-0 defeat that is their lone blemish in the past nine games (8-1). Their most recent streak has certainly added some polish to a 5-3-1 start, but Messiah has a lot to prove—and earn—this week in the conference tournament.
Scouting the Falcons (13-4-1, 7-1-0)There are probably more than a dozen ways to evaluate the Falcons' season, especially as the perennial national contender has been as vulnerable this year as any other in the past two decades. Messiah's four losses are the most since 1998, and they saw their 52-match unbeaten streak in conference regular-season games come to an end at Lycoming. But most criticisms end there as the Falcons have allowed just five goals over their current 8-1 stretch. They're also riding a five-game shutout streak, and both the defense and offense have shown the ability to overwhelm opponents.
Danny Rowe leads the team with a career-high nine goals and three other Falcons—
Nick West,
Will Cochran, and
Benji Kennel—have each tallied six times.
David Alejos and
Jacob Bender have also combined for six goals and 13 assists.
Kennel and midfield 'mates, including
Samuel Ruiz Plaza, are in front of defensive line led by
Matt Kyne,
Dakota Rosenberg, and
Bryant Myer. Keeper
Connor Bell has started seven-straight games and owns a 0.28 goals against average of that span.
Scouting the Field
No. 1 Lycoming (14-1-2, 7-0-1)The Warriors will play the winner of No. 4 Arcadia and No. 5 Widener, a game scheduled for Monday night at 7:00 p.m.
The Warriors are among the best teams in the Region and took the top seed in the MAC Commonwealth thanks to their 2-0 win over Messiah. Lycoming has allowed just 10 goals this season (0.59 GAA) and they're holding opponents to just seven shots per game. Jordan Logan (13g, 3a) leads three double-digit scorers with 29 points and Abdullahi Abdi (9g, 8a) is right behind with 26 points. The Warrior offense is not dominant, but they fight, scratch, and claw from start to finish and are relentless at earning possession. Keeper Josh Gildea has started 15 games and holds a solid 0.815 save percentage.
When They Met: Messiah and Lycoming played a scoreless first-half before the Warriors tallied twice midway through the second frame to win 2-0. Abdi and Kyle Thomas tallied, with Thomas' goal coming by way of a header off a corner serve. Messiah did manage to get off 13 shots, but just five went on frame. Lycoming is 8-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming in their season-opener with Eastern (1-0 OT).
No. 3 Lebanon Valley (8-9-0, 4-4-0)It's been a back-and-forth year for the Dutchmen, but they've overcome an 0-5 start to go 8-4 since and break into the postseason. Lebanon Valley has given up more goals (30) than they've scored (24), but they're outscoring conference opponents 13-10 over eight regular-season games. Tyler Skye (2g, 6a) is alone in double-digit scoring with 10 points, but four other players have tallied at least three goals. Cam Avery's numbers in the net (1.30 GAA, .0785 save percentage) are little misleading considering his reputation as a stellar netminder.
When They Met: The Dutchmen tallied two goals in a 12-minute stretch from the end of the first-half into the final frame, but Messiah stormed back to tally four answered goals in the final 29 minutes. Lebanon Valley's first goal came against the run of play on a great action through the midfield, but their second goal—a lofted shot from 25 yards out to the back post—was more of a misplay than a brilliant hit. Despite the deficit, Rowe, Bender,
Colby Thomas, and Cochran all scored to secure a dramatic come-from-behind win on Shoemaker Field.
Play In Game: No. 4 Arcadia (11-5-3, 4-2-2) vs. No. 5 Widener (8-9-1, 4-4-0)The Knights will host the Pride on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. for the right to play at Lycoming on Wednesday. Just over a week ago the Pride won a game on Arcadia's home field with a 3-1 score. Ryan Hammer tallied early for the Knights to give them a 1-0 lead, but Widener responded with three unanswered goals in a span of just six minutes in the second-half to stun the Knights and get the win.
When Messiah Met Arcadia: Danny Rowe and
Will Cochran each tallied in the first-half and
Samuel Ruiz Plaza scored after the break to help Messiah to a 3-0 win. The Falcons held the Knights to just two shots while also collecting a 13-1 edge in corners.
When Messiah Met Widener: Messiah got off to a fast start with three goals in the first 17 minutes en route to a 3-0 shutout on the road. Kennel,
Nick West, and Rowe all scored and the Falcons allowed just a single shot on goal to the Pride. Messiah controlled a large majority of territory and also grabbed a 7-1 edge in corners.
