Grantham, PA - No. 4 Messiah women's lacrosse is set to appear in their seventh-ever NCAA Championship Tournament this Sunday when they play host to No. 14 SUNY Cortland in the NCAA Second Round. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.

The Red Dragons are making their 21st overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their 19th-straight appearance as members of the SUNYAC.

A snapshot preview of Sunday's game is below:
 

No. 4 Messiah College Falcons (Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats)
	Location: Grantham, PA Coach: Heather Greer (10th season, 135-49 at Messiah entering the game) 2017 Record: 15-2, 7-0 MAC Commonwealth NCAA Tournament Appearance: 7th Last NCAA Appearance: 2016 Second Round loss at Catholic, 15-9
How the Falcons got here: How the Falcons got here: Messiah qualified for their third-straight NCAA Tournament by way of a third-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship. The Falcons defeated Stevenson in each of those conference title games, and they'll now face SUNY Cortland for the first time in program history.   The Falcons are riding a 13-game win streak, the second-longest in program history behind a 14-game stretch in 2011. Messiah's balanced team effort is their calling card, and they've won games because of the cumulative effort across every area of the field. As a team Messiah ranks within the top-10 in two categories: assists per game (No. 6, 8.47 assists per game) and scoring defense (No. 7, 5.65 goals per game).   Messiah's defense is headlined by Alexa Dipeso, the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year, and her No. 7-ranked 5.73 GAA between the pipes. She has set career-best numbers in both GAA and save percentage (.546) and she's given up more than six goals just six times this season. Against the four teams on Messiah's schedule that are currently ranked in the IWLCA Top 20—Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, York, Mary Washington—Dipeso averaged an impressive 8.18 GAA. In front of Dipeso is a strong defensive unit led by talented one-on-one players that are even better as a group. Among them is Kendra Herbenar, who leads the team with 34 caused turnovers, Kathryn Milwicz (18 CTO), and Brooke Gamble (17 CTO).   Ida Ehhradt leads the team with 66 draw controls, and fellow midfielder Stephanie Athens is first on the team in assists (29) and second in goals (30) and points (79). They, along with the defensive group, have been key to Messiah holding opponents to just .567 clear percentage.   Among the Falcons' attack is leading scorer Jenna Stover who has put up career-best goal (57) and point (79) totals. Just last week Stover tied Messiah's program record with eight goals in a single game, and she also had a seven-goal game earlier this season. Courtney Wagner (28g, 26a), Claire Stikeleather (23g, 10a), and Allie Colson (26g) make it six players with 20-plus goals, with Athens (5) and Colson (4) leading the team in game-winners. All told, Messiah has a No. 11-ranked points per game output (22.65).   On the sidelines for Messiah is Heather Greer, now in her 10th season. She has led Messiah to five conference championships and now six NCAA Tournament appearances. .
No. 14 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons (Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats)
	Location: Cortland, NY Coach: Kelly Lickert-Orr (3rd season, 57-6 at SUNY Cortland entering the game)  2017 Record: 14-4 overall, 7-1 SUNYAC NCAA Tournament Appearance: 21st Last NCAA Appearance: 2016 Final Four loss to Middlebury, 16-11
How the Red Dragons got here: SUNY Cortland is making an impressive 19th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and as recently as 2015 they won the Division III National Championship. Last season the Red Dragons advanced to the Final Four for a sixth-straight season.   Cortland is sixth in the nation with just 11.67 turnovers per game, and they have made good on their possessions to collect 13.83 goals per game. Kristen Ohberg leads five 30-plus goal scorers with 40 goals and 40 assists, and four others—Carly Stone (39g, 47p), Lexie Meager (33g, 12a, 45p), Hannah Elmer (26g, 17a, 43p), and Makenzie Annable (30g, 40p)—have tallied at least 40 points this season. Ohberg leads the team with four game-winners, and both Meager (.812) and Annable (.839) have put more than 80 percent of their shots on goal. Meager, the team's leader with 25 caused turnovers, was also honored this week as the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year.   The Red Dragons' defense has allowed 23.6 shots per game to their opponents, and opponents have made good on 71.2 percent of their clears. Cortland has also collect just 13 more draw controls (221-208) than their opponents. Despite these numbers, Cortland has allowed just 8.06 goals per game, and goalie Jaclyn Beshlian holds impressive marks in GAA (7.96) and save percentage (.516).   Ohberg and senior defender Hilary O'Neil (11 CT) were named First Team All-SUNYAC this week.   Kelly Lickert-Orr is in her third season with the Red Dragons. She is a former three-time All-American from Limestone College (SC) and helped that team to three Division II Final Fours. .

 

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