| Messiah College Falcons (No. 9 NSCAA / No. 5 D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Grantham, Pa.
Coach: Brad McCarty (9th season, 186-13-9 at Messiah entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 20-2, 8-0 MAC Commonwealth
2017 NCAA First Round: 1-0 win over Castleton University
2017 NCAA Second Round: 1-0 win over Hobart College |
NCAA Tournament History: The Falcons are the standard when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, with 10 NCAA Division III National Championships since the year 2000. The Falcons are 80-15-5 (.825) all-time across 18 Tournament appearances. This is the Falcons' 21st time qualifying for the Sweet 16; last season Messiah's season ended in the Sectional Semifinal to Calvin, 2-1 in overtime.
What to Know About the Falcons: Prior to getting upset in the conference final last weekend the Falcons were riding a 16-game win streak—their sixth-longest streak in program history—with 13 shutouts … Messiah has allowed just 10 goals this season, and their goals against average of 0.490 is good for No. 11 in the nation … keeper Connor Bell's 0.519 goals against average is No. 14 among all Division III goalies … the Falcons average 17.5 shots per game, almost 10 more than their opponents (7.7) and they earn nearly three-times as many corners (126-43) … MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year Kirby Robbins (13g, 6a) leads four double-digit scorers with 32 points , and he is second on the team with five game-winners … Nick West (11g, 4a) is second on the team in points, and third in winners (4), with Colby Thomas (8g, 9a) leading the way with six game-winning goals … the Falcons have allowed more than five shots on goal to their opponents in just twice in their past 14 games.
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| Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks |
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Location: Hoboken, N.J.
Coach: Dale Jordan (2nd season, 24-11-4 at Stevens entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 13-6-2, 5-1-1 Empire 8 Conference
2017 NCAA First Round: 1-0 win over Middlebury College
2017 NCAA Second Round: 2-1 win over SUNY Cortland |
NCAA Tournament History: This is the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Ducks, and they're appearing in their ninth Sweet 16. Messiah and Stevens have one piece of notable history in the NCAA Tournament: a 1-1 (2OT, 3-0 PK) decision for the Falcons over the Ducks in the 2008 National Championship.
What to Know About the Ducks: Stevens finished the regular-season with just two wins in their final five games (2-2-1) but they posted two shutouts (2-0, 1-0) in the Empire 8 Tournament to earn the AQ for the NCAA Tournament … Thirteen of the Ducks' 21 games have been decided by one goal or less, including both of their NCAA Tournament wins … in their Second Round win over SUNY Cortland junior Chris Cesario (3g, 1a) headed through the winner with 55 seconds to play … Daniel Aversano (5g, 1a), Andrew Masur (3g, 5a), and Kevin Brito (3g, 4a) are all double-digit scorers … Aversano leads the team with four game-winners … defenders Patrick Boylan and Tommy Dorsay were among four players named All-Empire 8 First Team, and they've helped the Ducks allow just 20 goals this season … Stevens has allowed more than 10 shots per game, opponents have also earned more than four corners a game … keeper Aaron Henry has started 18 games in the goal, and he holds a 0.82 goals against average and 0.817 save percentage … Henry has made 16 saves across four postseason games (conference and NCAA) thus far.
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| University of Rochester Yellowjackets (RV NSCAA / RV D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Rochester, N.Y.
Coach: Chris Apple (16th season, 205-62-49 at Rochester entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 13-3-3, 4-2-1 University Athletic Association
2017 NCAA First Round: 2-1 (OT) win over Connecticut College
2017 NCAA Second Round: 2-1 win over SUNY Oneonta
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NCAA Tournament History: Rochester is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history, and this marks their fourth trip to the Sweet 16. In two of their previous three trips to the Sectionals they were ousted by the Falcons—6-0 in 2007 (Sectional Semifinal) and 2-1 in 2009 (Sectional Final).
What to Know About the Yellowjackets: Rochester lost in overtime by a 3-2 score to Emory in the University Athletic Association regular-season finale (4-2-1 oveall), but received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament … they Yellowjackets held a 2-1 lead in that game against Emory before giving up the equalizer in the 82' and the winner in the 95' … Rochester has given up 16 goals this season, including four in a loss to Chicago on Sept. 30 … Rochester has also allowed six goals in their past four games … Geoffrey Rouin (12g, 2a) leads the team with 26 points, and he's also netted a team-best six game-winners … Alex Di Perna (5g, 5a) and Bryce Ikeda (5g, 3a) are also in double-digit scoring … six different Yellowjackets have scored the team's last six goals over their past three games … keeper Reed brown has started 19 games and holds a 0.77 goals against average and 0.779 save percentage … Brown has made 24 saves in his past five games with six goals against.
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| Amherst College Mammoths (No. 16 NSCAA /No. 18 D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Amherst, Mass.
Coach: Justin Serpone (11th season, 167-21-29 at Amherst entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 12-3-3, 6-2-2 New England Small College Athletic Conference
2017 NCAA First Round: 2-1 win over Salem St.
2017 NCAA Second Round: 1-1 (2OT, 2-0 PK) over Springfield College
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NCAA Tournament History: The Mammoths enter the pod with the title of "most recent to win a National Championship" thanks to their 2-1 win over Loras in the 2015 title game. Amherst has advanced through the Sectionals three times in program history and, if Messiah and Amherst are both able to advance to Sunday, it will be their first-ever meeting.
What to Know About the Mammoths: Amherst went 6-2-2 in the NESCAC and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament … prior to a regular-season-ending 4-3 loss against Hamilton, the Mammoths had won five-straight games … Amherst has allowed just 17 goals this season, but they've also given up tallies in eight of the past nine games (13 total goals) … Sebastian Derby (5g, 2a) and Fikayo Ajayi (5g, 1a) have each tallied five times, and they each have two game-winners … Weller Hlinomaz (4g, 2a) and Jimmy McMillian (4g, 2a) round out the four double-digit scorers for a team that has tallied 37 goals this season … the Mammoths have a few keepers to employ, but Michael Stone has started both Tournament games, and he holds a 1.03 goals against average with a 0.850 save percentage. |
