Grantham, PA – No. 1 Messiah College women's soccer is set to enter the postseason this week when they host Lebanon Valley in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal on Thursday, Nov. 5. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. on Shoemaker Field.
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
Season SnapshotThe Falcons are the nation's No. 1 team and also the No. 1 seed it the conference tournament. They went undefeated in conference play (8-0) and only allowed a single goal to a conference opponent. The Falcons' two ties are to No. 5 William Smith (1-1 on Sept. 12) and Farmingdale State (0-0 on Oct. 10).
.| Scouting the Falcons |
| No. 1 Messiah Falcons - 16-0-2 Overall, 8-0 MAC Commonwealth |
| Any way you look at it, the Falcons are good. Really good. But nothing can be assumed in this game, and certainly not at this point in the season. William Smith and Farmingdale State have already shown the Falcons can be contained, and last season Messiah was the favorite in a draw with Stevenson in the conference final. The Mustangs took that match in penalty kicks, and a rematch could be in store for this weekend.
Nikki Elsaesser (22g, 14a, 58p) is having her best year in an already-decorated career and Marisa Weaver (13g, 3a), Kyele Bridel (12g, 4a), and Holly Burgard (8g, 6a) are all above 20 points, respectively. Those four have also combined for 14 game-winners, with Weaver leading the way with six of her own. Altogether, Messiah's offense is one of the best in the nation and they scored three-plus goals in 15 of 18 games in the regular-season.
Starters Macaulay Soto and Marisa DeMonte provide relentless coverage in the midfield and the Falcons' back line is No. 3 in the nation with a 0.17 goals against average. Kayla Deckert, Skylar Ulry, Missy Biener, and Summerly Merson start in that group, and keeper Audra Larson has put together another standout campaign with a .900 save percentage.
|
| Scouting the Field |
| No. 2 Stevenson Mustangs - 9-10 Overall, 6-2 MAC Commonwealth |
| The Mustangs went through a tough 1-8 stretch early in the season, but they recovered to go 6-2 and get into the MAC Commonwealth postseason. Stevenson has just 31 goals scored this season against 18 allowed, but they're one of three teams to get on the board against Messiah. Kellen Wittman leads the team with nine goals and 21 points, and Allie Ondrejack is behind her with three goals and seven helpers. Keeper Tiffany McKee carries a 1.19 goals against average and a .792 save percentage in 19 starts.
When They Met: Just last week the Falcons scored four second-half goals to break a scoreless tie en route to a 4-1 win. Nikki Elsaesser tallied twice in the decision and, despite giving up a late goal to the Mustangs, Messiah was in control from start to finish. Stevenson was committed to defense throughout, which enabled Messiah to collect a 20-2 edge in shots. |
| No. 3 Arcadia Knights - 13-5 Overall, 6-2 MAC Commonwealth |
| The Knights went 7-1 in their final eight games to end the regular-season, with their lone loss coming at Messiah. Their other defeat in the conference came to Stevenson. The Knights have three players with at least eight goals, and Kelly Jess (8g, 10a) leads the way with 26 points. Evelyn Feigeles has started 18 games in the net and holds a 0.88 goals against average and a .724 save percentage.
When They Met: The Knights were one of three teams in the regular-season to hold Messiah to no more than two goals, but Messiah did earn a shutout. The game started with a fair amount of end-to-end play, and the Falcons caught some fortune when Arcadia's aggression led to a penalty kick opportunity for Messiah. That goal allowed Messiah to play with a lead, and Arcadia could manage only a single shot on goal.
|
| No. 4 Lebanon Valley Dutchmen (13-5 Overall, 5-3 MAC Commonwealth |
| The Dutchmen defeated No. 5 Albright in the play-in game on Monday afternoon. They edged the Lions by a 2-1 score with Sammy Bost's tally in the 87th minute being the game-winner. The result was likely considering the Dutchmen have now played nine one-goal games this season. They are 7-2 in those contests and Bost leads the way with five game-winners. Bost leads the team in goals (15) and points (35) and Meghan Ross is at 23 points by way of nine goals and five helpers of her own. Taylor Reinhold has started 14 games in net and owns a 1.40 goals against average and .698 save percentage.
When They Met: The Falcons scored two goals in the first 20 minutes of play and added three more in the second-half in a 5-0 shutout. The Dutchmen managed just two shots (both on goal) while Messiah collected 23 shots and 11 corners.
|
Conference Championship HistoryLast year the Falcons went to Stevenson and tied 1-1 before falling in penalty kicks. The decision ended a seven-year run as conference champions for Messiah, and they're looking to get back on top this season. The Falcons have advanced to the championship game in every season since 2000, and they own titles in each season except 2006 and 2014.
