| Messiah College Falcons (No. 9 NSCAA / No. 5 D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Grantham, Pa.
Coach: Brad McCarty (9th season, 188-13-9 at Messiah entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 22-2, 8-0 MAC Commonwealth
2017 NCAA First Round: 1-0 win over Castleton University
2017 NCAA Second Round: 1-0 win over Hobart College
2017 NCAA Sectional Semifinal: 3-2 win over Stevens
2017 NCAA Sectional Final: 2-0 win over Rochester |
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 82-15-5 (.828) all-time across 18 Tournament appearances. This is the Falcons' 15th time qualifying for the Final Four, and their first trip since winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. Last season Messiah's season ended in the Sectional Semifinal to Calvin, 2-1 in overtime.
What to Know About the Falcons: The Falcons have won 20 of their past 21 games, with all 16 of their shutouts coming over that stretch … their lone loss over that 19-game stretch ended a 16-game win streak which was their sixth-longest streak in program history … in the NCAA opening weekend the Falcons won back-to-back 1-0 games in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history (2002, 2008), with the 2002 games also coming in the First and Second Rounds … in the Sectionals Messiah never trailed but nevertheless survived a 3-2 shootout with Stevens before holding off Rochester, 2-0 … Messiah has allowed just 12 goals this season, and their goals against average of 0.492 is good for No. 10 in the nation … keeper Connor Bell's 2092:51 minutes played are No. 2 among all Division III goalies, and his goals against average (0.516, No. 10) and save percentage (0.850, No. 28) are also among the leaders … the Falcons average 18.0 shots per game, just less than 10 more than their opponents (8.1) and they earn nearly three-times as many corners (150-56) … MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year Kirby Robbins (14g, 6a) leads four double-digit scorers with 34 points , and he is second on the team with five game-winners … Nick West (14g, 5a) is second on the team in points and also has five winners—including the tally in Messiah's First Round win … Colby Thomas (9g, 11a) leads the way with seven game-winning goals … MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Dakota Rosenberg and the rest of the backline has allowed just 15 shots on goal across the first four games of the Tournament, and the Falcons have allowed more than five shots on goal to their opponents just twice in their past 18 games.
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| Brandeis University Judges (No. 19 NSCAA / No. 20 D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Waltham, Mass.
Coach: Gabe Margolis (1st season, 17-4-0 at Brandeis entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 17-4-0, 5-2-0 University Athletic Association
2017 NCAA First Round: 3-0 win over Western Connecticut State
2017 NCAA Second Round: 1-0 win over Rutgers-Newark
2017 NCAA Sectional Semifinal: 1-0 win over Drew
2017 NCAA Sectional Final: 1-0 win over Tufts |
NCAA Tournament History: This marks the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Judges, and also their sixth-straight. The Judges are in the Final Four for the second-straight season; last season Brandeis lost to Calvin 1-0 on a goal scored with just over 15 minutes to play. Brandeis owns a National Championship from 1976.
What to Know About the Judges: Brandeis is making their second-straight appearance in the Final Four after winning three-straight 1-0 games over teams ranked within the top 12 of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 … the Judges' 1-0 win over Tufts in the Sectional Final was secured in the 109' off an unassisted goal by Patrick Flahive (6g, 2a) … like last season, when the Judges scored just 37 goals all season, their defense leads the way with impressive marks in goals against average (0.593, No. 19 nationally) and save percentage (0.859, No. 20) … Brandeis has scored just 43 goals thus far in 2017, and exactly two-thirds of their 21 games have been decided by no more than one goal … the Judges have let in just 13 goals to opponents … midfielder and leading scorer Josh Ocel (4g, 11a) was named All-UAA First Team, and three defenders—Dylan Hennessy, Sam Vinson, and Alex Walter—were named Second Team along with keeper Ben Woodhouse … the Judges' netminder is No. 13 in the nation with a 0.871 save percentage, and No. 17 in the nation with a 0.573 goals against average … Woodhouse has collected 17 saves across four Tournament games, including seven saves against Tufts in the Sectional Final … though having scored just 43 goals as a team, the Judges have four players behind Ocel in double-figure scoring including Flahive and Mike Lynch (7g) … Lynch (5), Flahive (4), and Ocel (3) lead the team in game-winners … Lynch has three winners alone in the NCAA Tournament.
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| North Park University Vikings (No. 5 NSCAA / No. 12 D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Chicago, Ill.
Coach: John Born (19th season, 215-101-35 at North Park entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 20-1-1, 7-0-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW)
2017 NCAA First Round: Bye
2017 NCAA Second Round: 6-1 win over Wisconsin-Platteville
2017 NCAA Sectional Semifinal: 3-0 win over Washington & Lee
2017 NCAA Sectional Final: 1-0 win over St. Thomas
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NCAA Tournament History: North Park is making their seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament, all of which have come since 2005. This is the Vikings' first trip the Final Four; North Park's previous deepest run in the Tournament was into the Second Round (twice).
What to Know About the Vikings: North Park is riding a seven-game win streak into the Final Four, and they're also unbeaten in their past 17 games (16-0-1) … the Vikings are among the most prolific offensive teams in the nation, and are ranked in the Top 15 in total goals (65, No. 10), total points (179, No. 11), points per game (8.14, No. 14), and total assists (49, No. 15) … North Park is also No. 16 in Division III with a 0.583 goals against average, and No. 20 with a 0.859 save percentage … Carl Kuzona (15g, 6a) leads the team with 36 points, and his eight game-winners is No. 3 in the nation … CCIW Newcomer of the Year Peder Nalum Olsen (10g, 9a), Shatil Khoury (10g, 2a), and Gustav Ericsson (5g, 10a) are all at-or-above 20 points, and Matia Warp (8g, 3a) is also in double-figures … Warm was named the CCIW Player of the Year thanks to his play in the midfield … seven different players have already combined to score nine goals in the NCAA Tournament across just three games (excludes an own-goal) … keeper Mathias Stulen is No. 11 in the nation in both goals against average (0.521) and save percentage (0.875), and he's already made 16 saves in three Tournament games.
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| University of Chicago Maroons (No. 11 NSCAA / No. 7 D3Soccer.com) |
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Location: Chicago, Ill.
Coach: Mike Babst (5th season, 69-20-20 at Chicago entering the weekend)
2017 Record: 19-2-1, 6-1-0 University Athletic Association
2017 NCAA First Round: 6-2 win over Lake Forest
2017 NCAA Second Round: 2-0 win over Capital
2017 NCAA Sectional Semifinal: 2-0 win over Calvin
2017 NCAA Sectional Final: 1-1 (2OT, 5-3 PK) over Emory
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NCAA Tournament History: This season marks the ninth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Maroons, and also their fourth-straight. They are in the National Semifinal for the second time in program history (1996), and they're looking for their first-ever qualification for the National Championship.
What to Know About the Maroons: Chicago won its first 11 games this season before losing twice in the span of four games, first to Emory (3-0) and then to North Park (1-0) … the Maroons avenged that loss to Emory with a 1-1 (2OT, 5-3 PK) decision in the Sectional Final, and they'll now face North Park in the National Semifinal … like their Final Four opponent, Chicago is among the best in the nation offensively as they're ranked No. 12 in total points (172), No. 15 in total goals (59), and No. 19 in points per game (7.82) … the Maroons can score in bunches, evidenced by their five second-half goals against Lake Forest in the First Round that helped erase an early 2-0 hole … UAA Most Valuable Player Max Lopez (19g, 4a) is tied with North Park's Carl Kuzona with eight game-winners, and he's already scored three times in the Tournament … Matthew Koh (10g, 11a) is also over 30 points and Kayo Adeosun (3g, 15a) is second in the nation in total assists … UAA Rookie of the Year Carter Romero (6g, 3a) has three game-winners like Koh, and Andre Abedian (5g, 4a) rounds out the Maroons' five double-digit scorers … Chicago has allowed just 15 goals to opponents, and keeper Bill Bonin's 0.708 goals against average is No. 37 in the nation. |
