Grantham, PA – No. 5 Messiah College men's soccer is set to enter the postseason this week when they host No. 5-seeded Arcadia University in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
Season Snapshot
After the first 11 games of the season the Falcons were 8-0-3 overall, and two of their wins came in overtime periods. That didn't necessarily
mean anything, and their 25-8 advantage in goals scored over that stretch was probably a better indicator of their play. Since then they've won another seven games with a 19-0 advantage in tallies and, despite moments of inconsistent play, the Falcons have proven capable of dominating territory, possession, and tempo for long stretches. As they enter the postseason they're now 15-0-3 with a perfect 8-0 mark in the MAC Commonwealth.
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| Scouting the Falcons |
| No. 1 Messiah Falcons - 15-0-3 Overall, 8-0 MAC Commonwealth |
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The Falcons have scored just those 44 goals thus far but, as mentioned, the small number of goals allowed (8) means the opponent is under great pressure to hold Messiah off the board. Jacob Bender (11g, 6a) and Kirby Robbins (11g, 2a) are the top targets of opposing defenses, but Colby Thomas (5g, 8a) and Nick West (3g, 5a) draw a lot of attention themselves thanks to dynamic and aggressive play on the wings. Those four represent the Falcons' double-digit point scorers, though three others (Brit Haseltine, David Alejos, and Samuel Ruiz Plaza) have collected at least three goals or assists to support the possession-oriented attack.
Bender's play in the midfield has been nothing short of tremendous as he's able to impact the game on all sides of the ball. That includes the support of a back line of Shay Quintin, Justin Brautigam, Dakota Rosenberg, and Josh Bender. Connor Bell has been stellar in goal and holds a .825 save percentage against a 0.40 goals against average.
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| Scouting the Field |
| No. 2 Lebanon Valley Dutchmen - 13-3 Overall, 6-2 MAC Commonwealth |
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The Dutchmen are flying high as they head into the conference tournament, though their semifinal match with Alvernia will be of special intrigue as the Crusaders ended Lebanon Valley's six-game win streak with a 1-0 decision in overtime to end the regular-season. That was also just the second loss Lebanon Valley suffered in their past 12 games, with the other coming by a 1-0 score to Messiah. The Dutchmen don't score many goals (36) but they also don't give many up (10). Five different players have tallied at least four goals, though no one has more than five goals, with Jake Kline (5g, 3) and Austin Freeman (4g, 4a) leading the way with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Cam Avery has again been an asset for the Dutchmen in the net as he carries a .873 save percentage against a 0.57 goals against average.
When They Met: The Falcons opened MAC Commonwealth play at Lebanon Valley way back on Oct. 1, and they came away with a 1-0 win. The Falcons outshot the Dutchmen 22-12 overall, but it was a goal from David Alejos in the seventh minute that made the difference. Conner Bell picked up two saves in the rain-and-wind-filled affair, with one of those touches being a true game-saving play in the final minutes.
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| No. 3 Alvernia Crusaders - 6-10-1 Overall, 5-2-1 MAC Commonwealth |
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What a year it's been for the Crusaders. Alvernia lost their first eight games of the season, but then won six of nine games the rest of the way to get into the postseason. A look at the stat sheet shows that Alvernia was not dominated by anyone, so they're probably more like the team that went 5-2-1 in the MAC Commonwealth. But despite that, they have still only scored 15 goals all season, and one of them was an own-goal. They've also given up 25 tallies to their opponents. Five different players have tallied twice, with Kevin MacFarland and Adam Orndorff each with two goals and two assists, respectively.
When They Met: The Falcons' last overtime game came eight matches ago at Alvernia. The 2-1 win for the Falcons included a early and brilliant goal through the defense from Jacob Bender, a penalty kick equalizer from Alvernia in the 78th minute, and a game-winning tally from defender Shay Quintin in the second overtime period. That decision dropped Alvernia to 1-9-0 overall, but they've gone 5-1-1 since to secure a playoff bid.
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| No. 5 Arcadia Knights - 9-6-3 Overall, 3-3-2 MAC Commonwealth |
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Arcadia arrives into the semifinal match with Messiah thanks to a 0-0 decision (4-3 penalty kicks) at Hood College on Tuesday afternoon. The decision avenged a 3-0 loss to the Blazers from back on Oct. 8, and now they'll look to avenge a 3-0 loss to Messiah from just last weekend. The Knights are led by Bradley McKim's 11 goals and four assists (26 points), though the next leading scorer is Tyler Ihle with seven points. Despite the low season totals, Arcadia outscored opponents 10-8 in their final six regular-season games.
When They Met: Messiah's regular-season finale was a 3-0 win at Arcadia, but the Knights slipped into the No. 5 seed anyway thanks to a tiebreaker over Lycoming. Kirby Robbins tallied twice and Will Cochran also scored in the Falcons' win that included a 22-4 edge in shots and 11-1 advantage in shots on goal. |
Conference Championship History
The Falcons dropped a 1-0 match at Lycoming last season in the MAC Commonwealth Championship. Prior to that the Falcons had won seven of the past eight conference titles. In total they have 15 conference championships dating back to their first title in 1992.
