Grantham, PA - Messiah College women's lacrosse is set to appear in their fifth-ever NCAA Championships Tournament. The No. 14 Falcons will host No. 9 Tufts University on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

The Jumbos are making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and they're doing so as a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).

A snapshot preview of Sunday's game is below:
 

No. 14 Messiah College Falcons (Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats)
	Location: Grantham, PA Coach: Heather Greer (8th season, 106-40 at Messiah entering the game) 2015 Record: 14-4, 8-0 Commonwealth Conference NCAA Tournament Appearance: 5th Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 Regional Semifinal loss to Colby College, 16-5
How the Falcons got here: Messiah arrives in the NCAA Tournament after winning the fourth conference championship in program history. This year's crown came by way of an 11-6 win over rival Stevenson University. Their current 11-game win streak is the second longest in program history, trailing only a 14-game win streak in 2011.   The Falcons are averaging 13.33 goals per game on 29.4 shots per game, and they're putting 78.8 percent of their shots on cage. Eleven Messiah players have scored double-digit points, with seven of those players tallying 28 or more points. First Team All-Commonwealth selection Claire Stikeleather leads the team in goals (42) and points (58), and she's also third on the team in groundballs (28), caused turnovers (15), and draw controls (29). Stikeleather is also tied with Madi Brunk with a team-high three game-winning goals.   Brunk is second on the team with 52 points. She's collected 31 assists overall, and she has 12 goals and 14 assists in her past six games alone. Like Stikeleather, Brunk was one of seven All-Commonwealth selections.   Midfielder Stephanie Athens is third on the team in points (47) in her first season, and Carly Bajus (34), Marybeth Bindel (33), and Liz Brennan (31) are also above 30 points. Impressively, 134 of Messiah's 240 goals (55.8%) have come off assists, helping the Falcons' to a No. 18-ranked 7.44 assists per game average.   As balanced and dynamic as Messiah's offense has been, their hat may very well be hung on their defense. Alexa Dipeso is No. 15 in the nation with a 7.35 goals against average and No. 31 with a 49.4 save percentage, and Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Brooke Gamble been a formidable match-up for opposing attacks. Gamble and teammate defenders Becky Ely and Molly Devilbiss have combined to collect 94 groundballs and 53 caused turnovers.   On the sidelines for Messiah is head coach Heather Greer, now in her eighth season. She has a career record of 106-40 with the Falcons, and has led Messiah to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, 2011, and 2012 prior to this season. .
No. 9 Tufts University Jumbos (Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats)
	Location: Boston, MA Coach: Courtney Farrell (2nd season, 21-12 at Tufts entering the game) 2015 Record: 11-6, 6-4 NESCAC NCAA Tournament Appearance: 3rd Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 Regional Semifinal loss to SUNY Cortland, 13-7
How the Jumbos got here: The Jumbos enter the NCAA Tournament by way of an at-large bid from one of the most prestigious lacrosse conferences in the nation, the NESCAC. Eight teams from the NESCAC are ranked in the IWLCA Top 20, and three of those teams did not qualify for the Tournament. Still, that means five teams—No. 1 Trinity (CT), No. 4 Bowdoin, No. 6 Middlebury, No. 9 Tufts, and No. 13 Hamilton—are still playing this week.   Tufts went 6-4 in the NESCAC regular-season and eventually lost to No. 1 Trinity in the conference semifinal. That loss was 8-7 in overtime, and Tufts actually had a 7-6 lead heading into the final minute of the overtime session.   The Jumbos are averaging 10.76 goals per game on 24.4 shots per game, and they're putting an impressive 79.3 percent of their shots on cage. Nine players have collected double-digit points, with junior attack Caroline Russ in front with 51 goals and 16 assists. Ross was a First Team All-NESCAC selection. Junior midfielder Brigid Bowser is second on the team with 41 points by way of 32 goals and nine assists, and she's also collected 39 draw controls, 30 groundballs, and 18 caused turnovers. Bowser has also has a flair for the dramatic as she scored two impressive goals against Trinity in their conference semifinal: a game-tying goal with three second left to force overtime, and a go-ahead goal midway through the overtime period.   Four more players are also over 20 points this season: Kate Mackin (25), Calie Nowak (22), Kali DiCate (21), and Lindsey Walker. Perhaps just as impressively, those four have shot-on-goal percentages of 81.6, 86.4, 80.6, and 84.4, respectively.   The Jumbos are relenting just 8.90 goals per game to opponents, and NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year Emily Wright is a reason why. A former conference Rookie of the Year (2013), Wright has collected 44 draw controls, 38 caused turnovers, and 35 groundballs this season.   In the cage for Tufts will most likely be first-year goalie Hannah Wiltshire. She's started seven games this season, and she's played every minute of the Jumbos' past three games. Across 12 appearances Wiltshire has an 8.01 goals against average and a 47.3 save percentage. Senior goalie Rachel Gallimore carries a10.26 goals against average and a 40.9 save percentage in nine starts this season.   On the sidelines for the Jumbos is second-year head coach Courtney Farrell. She had an impressive four-year career with Division I Cornell University in which she was an All-American, four-time All-Ivy, and three-time All-Region performer. She was an assistant coach at SUNY Cortland prior to arriving at Tufts, and she helped guide the Red Dragons to three-straight Final Fours in her time with the program. .

 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video