GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah field hockey team lived up to their top-seeding in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 6-0 victory over the third-seeded Arcadia Knights in the Conference Championship Game. Messiah fired 39 shots in the contest while holding Arcadia without an attempt in the runaway victory. Kristen Musser entered Saturday's Championship Game with just four career goals, including two in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals on Wednesday, but led the Messiah attack with her first career hat trick in the match.

The Falcons scored three goals in each half with Musser collecting two in the second period. Taylor Wiederrecht, Megan Wetzel, and Emily Knepp also tallied for Messiah as the Falcons claimed their 12th-straight, and 25th overall, Conference Championship.

Currently ranked as the top team in the country, Messiah earns the Automatic Qualifier from the MAC Commonwealth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The bracket for the upcoming Championships will be released tomorrow night at 11:30 p.m.

Stay tuned to GoMessiah.com for complete Tournament information as it becomes available.

Building a Lead
Messiah began the match with a fair amount of pressure, turning in four shots and a pair of penalty corners in the first eight minutes of the match. The Falcons earned their third corner of the match in the 13th minute and took advantage of the opportunity for their first score of the day.

Taylor Wiederrecht inserted the corner and Casie Stief took a shot from just left of the top of the circle. While Stief's shot was blocked the rebound fell right to Wiederrecht, who had glided to the near post after inserting the pass. The junior cleaned up the rebound, giving Messiah an early 1-0 advantage.

Three minutes later the Falcons doubled that lead off the stick of Megan Wetzel. Kezia Loht inserted a corner to Wetzel at the top of the circle. Wetzel delivered a powerful swing that gave the senior her 10th goal of the year and Messiah a 2-0 lead.

Pulling Away
A penalty stroke was converted by Kristen Musser with just under 14 minutes remaining in the opening half and the Falcons took a 3-0 advantage into the break. Messiah had dominated the opening half with 23 shots against none from the Knights, but the Falcons were far from done. Messiah added three goals in the second-half to run away from Arcadia to claim their third six-goal victory in a Conference Championship Match in the last four years.

Musser added two goals in the second-half while Emily Knepp redirected a Casie Stief shot in for the fifth goal of the afternoon for the Falcons.

Completing the Hat Trick
Prior to her two-goal match in the Semifinals on Wednesday, Kristen Musser had tallied just two times in her career and only once since the 2016 season. In Messiah's 7-0 victory over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Wednesday, Musser was the only Falcon to tally more than one goal with two in the victory. That two-goal performance was just priming the pump for Saturday's hat trick.

Musser scored her first of the day off a penalty stroke in the 22nd minute of the game. She was one of three goal scorers in the opening half, but after the break, she scored a pair of goals with tallies 11 minutes apart in the 51st and 62nd minutes. Her second of the day came on a through ball from Taylor Wiederrecht right down the gut of the defense.

In the 62nd minute, Mackenzie Brubaker found Musser in the middle of the circle with a centering pass, Musser took a touch to her left before sending a backhanded shot into the back of the cage for the final Messiah goal of the day.

Musser is the first Falcon to record a hat trick this season.

12-Straight Titles
With the victory, Messiah claimed their 12th-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship. On Nov. 4, 2006 the Falcons fell to the LVC Dutchmen 2-0 in the MAC Commonwealth Championship, snapping a streak of five-straight Conference Titles. Since that loss in 2006, the Falcons have claimed every MAC Commonwealth Championship. This season the Falcons won the title as the top-seed in the Tournament, marking the eighth-time during the streak that Messiah completed an undefeated MAC Commonwealth regular season and postseason.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will now turn their attention to the NCAA Division III Tournament after claiming the Automatic Qualifier from the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons are currently ranked No. 1 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Poll and are expected to earn a bye through the First Round of the Tournament.

Messiah will know what the Tournament path will look like on Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. when the bracket is released on NCAA.com. Check GoMessiah.com tomorrow night and throughout the week for more information on the upcoming Tournament.