| No. 1 Messiah College Falcons |
 Location: Grantham, Pa.
Coach: Brad McCarty (10th season, 206-13-12 with the Falcons)
2018 Record: 16-0-3, 8-0-0 MAC Commonwealth
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 29th
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2017 National Champion, 2-1 win vs. North Park
About the Falcons:
The Falcons enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 team in the country in the most recent USC Top 25 Poll. Messiah, enters the Tournament with a 16-0-3 overall record, and went 8-0-0 in the MAC Commonwealth regular-season before claiming the Conference Championship for the 17th time in program history. Last season, the Falcons earned their 11th National Championship in program history with a 2-1 victory over the North Park Vikings in the National Championship.
This is Messiah's 29th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and have claimed National Championships in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2017.
This season, the Falcons feature a top-20 scoring offense in the country, averaging 3.00 goals per game. Nick West is a big contributor to Messiah's offensive success with 24 goals on the season, second most in the nation. West paces an offense that attempts the second-most shots per game with 24.53. A total of 16 different Falcons have scored this season with seven tallying at least three or more.
Messiah's defense has been just as stellar as their offense this season, particularly as of late. On the year the Falcons' defense has allowed 0.557 goals per game, ranking them 15th in the country in scoring defense. Between the pipes, goalkeeper Connor Bell was named the National Player of the Week by United Soccer Coaches after completing two shutouts in the Conference Tournament. On the year Bell has a 0.831 save percentage and a 0.49 goals against average.
Messiah has allowed just one goal in their last eight games and is currently riding a 573-minute streak without allowing a goal.
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Stats | Roster | Schedule
Matches vs. Tournament Teams
8/31 - SUNY Cortland - 2-2 (2OT) D
9/8 - at Montclair St. - 5-1 W
10/1 - at Johns Hopkins - 2-2 (2OT) D
10/17 - Lycoming - 2-0 W
11/3 - Lycoming - 0-0 (2OT) D
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| Baruch College Bearcats |
 Location: New York, N.Y.
Coach: Dima Kamenshchik (First season, 8-5-4 with the Bearcats)
2018 Record: 8-5-4, 4-1-2 CUNY Athletic Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: Sixth
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2014 First Round, 4-0 loss vs. Muhlenberg College
About the Bearcats:
The Baruch Bearcats (8-5-4) are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and head to Grantham following a 2-2 (4-3 PKs) draw in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNY) Championship with Staten Island. Penalty kicks gave the Bearcats the Conference Title and sent them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
The Bearcats had four players named All-CUNY with freshman midfielder Javier Arellano Crespo leading the way with Baruch's only First Team honor. Crespo leads the Bearcats' offense on the season with six goals and three assists (15 points). Midfielders Cormac Foley (4g, 1a) and Jacob Gorodetsky (1g, 1a) along with defender Stanley Goldberg (1g, 2a) each earned Second Team All-Conference honors. |
9/19 - at New York Univ. - 3-2 L
All-Time Series
First-ever meeting between
Messiah and Baruch. |
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| No. 25 Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays |
 Location: Baltimore, Md.
Coach: Craig Appleby (10th season, 130-54-33 with the Blue Jays)
2018 Record: 13-4-1, 7-2-0 Centennial Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 16th
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2017 Third Round, 0-0 draw vs Tufts (fell 4-1 in PKs)
About the Blue Jays:
Johns Hopkins (13-4-1) enters the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid after falling in the Centennial Conference Semifinals against Franklin and Marshall by a 2-0 final. The Blue Jays are in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season and the 16th time in program history. A familiar foe for the Falcons, Johns Hopkins hosted the Falcons on Oct. 1 in Baltimore. In that meeting, Messiah trailed 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, but Nick West scored twice in the final minutes to tie the match, force overtime, and eventually end the match in a 2-2 draw.
The Blue Jays earned a total of seven All-Conference players with senior defender Cole Rosenberger and junior forward Achim Younker leading the way with First Team honors. Rosenberger anchors a defensive unit that allows just 10.44 shots per game and has allowed just 16 goals in 18 matches this season. On the other side of the ball, Younker is tied for second on the team with 13 points on four goals and five assists. Pablo Martinez leads the way offensively with six goals and five assists for a team-high 17 points on just 23 shots.
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Stats | Roster | Schedule
Matches vs. Tournament Teams
9/8 - Mary Washington - 2-1 (OT) L
9/15 - at Haverford - 1-0 L
10/1 - Messiah - 2-2 (2OT) D
10/13 - Frank. & Marsh. - 4-1 W
11/3 - (N) Frank. & Marsh. - 2-0 L
All-Time Series
- Six previous meetings
- Messiah holds a 4-0-2 record
- Messiah Goals For: 10
- Johns Hopkins Goals For: 6
- Last Meeting:
2-2 (2OT) Draw (Oct. 1, 2018)
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| No. 23 Washington and Lee University Generals |
 Location: Lexington, Va.
Coach: Michael Singleton (Fifth season, 71-22-9 with the Generals)
2018 Record: 14-3-1, 9-0-1 Old Dominion Athletic Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: Fifth
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2017 Third Round, 3-0 loss to North Park
About the Generals:
Washington and Lee (14-3-1) earned a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship this past weekend. The Generals are making their fourth-straight and fifth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Their NCAA history is highlighted by a run to the "Sweet 16" last season.
The Generals have scored 50 goals on the season, averaging 2.78 goals per goals with senior Dylan Ritch leading the way with 14 goals and 10 assists. Six other Generals have tallied at least three scores this year for the 26th best scoring offense in the country. The Generals' defensive is allowing just under a goal per game at 0.914 this season, which ranks them as the 86th stingiest defense in the nation. |
Stats | Roster | Schedule
Matches vs. Tournament Teams
9/8 - at Frank. & Marsh. - 2-1 (2OT) L
All-Time Series
- 10 previous meetings
- Messiah holds an 8-2-0 record
- Messiah Goals For: 16
- Washington & Lee Goals For: 7
- Last Meeting:
4-0 Messiah (Oct. 8, 2016)
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