1819_fh_four_team_opening weekend preview

Field Hockey Begins NCAA Tournament Saturday on Home Turf

11/9/2018 9:30:00 AM

Weekend Homepage  |  Complete Bracket  |  Live Video and Stats

GRANTHAM, Pa. - For the third-straight season, Messiah field hockey will host the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament on Anderson Field. The top-ranked Falcons will host the Endicott Gulls in the Second Round on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. while No. 9 Johns Hopkins and FDU-Florham will meet in the other Second Round match at 2:00 p.m. The two winners will meet in the Third Round on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

The Falcons are entering the tournament after making consecutive trips to the National Championship Match in 2016 and 2017. Messiah claimed their first National Title in program history in 2016 before finishing as the Runner-Up last season against Middlebury.

Please note: The NCAA charges admission to all Tournament events with the prices as follows: $5 for adults, $3 for students with ID and senior citizens, and no charge children under two years of age.

See below for a quick preview of each program competing this weekend:
No. 1 Messiah College Falcons
6628Location: Grantham, Pa.
Coach: Brooke Good (Seventh season, 126-24 with the Falcons)
2018 Record: 19-0, 7-0 MAC Commonwealth
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 32nd
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2017 National Champion, 4-0 loss vs. Middlebury
2018 NCAA Tournament First Round: Bye
About the Falcons:
The Falcons enter the NCAA Tournament as the top team in the country for the third-straight season. Messiah completed their second-straight undefeated regular season and currently hold an unblemished 19-0 record on the 2018 season after claiming the MAC Commonwealth Championship last Saturday with a 6-0 victory over the Arcadia Knights. The Falcons have reached the National Championship Match in each of the last two season, defeating Tufts in 2016 for the first National Title in program history and falling to Middlebury in last year's Championship Match. That loss to Middlebury is the only blemish for Messiah in their last 64 matches (63-1 record).
 
This is Messiah's 18th-straight trip to the National Tournament and 32nd overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons and have reached the "Final Four" 14 times, including trips in 1984, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, and 2017.

This season, the Falcons feature one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 0.57 goals per game against opponents, the seventh best mark in the country. A pair of seniors are the cornerstones on that defensive unit with two-time MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Shayna Landis and four-time All-MAC Commonwealth goalie Shelby Landes. If the season ended today, Messiah's 0.57 GAA would be the sixth-best in program history and the lowest since 1994.

While the defense has been the focal point, Messiah can be pretty potent on the offensive side of the ball as well. The Falcons are averaging 3.16 goals per game as a team, the 25th highest total in the country and spread the offense around to a number of different players. Six different Falcons have registered at least six goals on the year and none with more than 10. Kezia Loht drives the offensive attack for the Falcons with seven goals and 10 assists and was named Co-Offensive Player of the Year in the MAC Commonwealth this season. Megan Wetzel leads the team with 10 goals, 10 assists, and 30 points, doing the majority of her damage off of penalty corners.
 
Stats  |  Roster  |  Schedule

Matches vs. Tournament Teams

9/8 - vs. Salisbury - 2-0 W
9/15 - vs. TCNJ - 4-2 W
9/26 - at F&M - 2-1 (OT) W

Endicott College Gulls
endicott_gullsLocation: Beverly, Mass.
Coach: Jodi Cipolla (12th season, 160-87 with the Gulls)
2018 Record: 17-4, 12-0 Commonwealth Coast Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: Third
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2012 First Round, 4-1 loss vs. Utica
2018 NCAA Tournament First Round: 3-1 win vs. St. Joseph's (ME)
About the Gulls:
The Endicott Gulls arrive in Saturday's Second Round after a 3-1 victory over St.Joseph's (ME) in the First Round on Wednesday for their first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Gulls claimed their third-ever Tournament appearance with an undefeated, 12-0 record in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) that resulted in a Conference Championship thanks to a 1-0 win over the University of New England.

Endicott's offense is potent. This season the Gulls are scoring at the second-highest clip in the country with a 4.77 goals per game average (only Rowan is higher with a 4.90 average). The high-powered offense if fueled by a number of different sources, with four players netting at least 10 goals on the year. Co-Offensive Player of the year in the CCC, Kristen McCarthy, leads the way with 29 goals and 17 assists on the year. Defensively, Endicott is allowing 1.45 goals per game with opponents scoring multiple goals in a game nine different times this season.
Stats  |  Roster  |  Schedule

Matches vs. Tournament Teams
11/7 - vs. St. Joseph's (ME) - 3-1 W

All-Time Series
This is the first-ever meeting
between the Falcons and Gulls.

No. 9 Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays
johns_hopkinsLocation: Baltimore, Md.
Coach: Jane Wells (Second season, 31-7 with the Blue Jays)
2018 Record: 17-2, 9-1 Centennial Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: Ninth
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2008 First Round, 2-1 loss vs. Christopher Newport
2018 NCAA Tournament First Round: Bye

About the Blue Jays:
Other than the Falcons, the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays were the other team in the Grantham pod that earned a bye through the First Round after a claiming the Centennial Conference with an upset, shootout victory over top-seeded Franklin & Marshall in the Conference Championship. Johns Hopkins is making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in a decade. This year's trip will mark their ninth overall trip to the Tournament.

Senior Grace Hillman was named the Centennial Conference's Defensive of the Year after leading the Blue Jays' back line to the 12th-best goals against average in the country with a mark of 0.82. Katie McErlean patrols the midfield alongside Hillman, and earned First Team All-Conference honors this season after career-highs in goals (8), assists (5), and points (21). This season, the Blue Jays own a 17-2 overall record and have played a number of tight contests on the year, including 14 games decided by one or two goals.
 
Stats  |  Roster  |  Schedule

Matches vs. Tournament Teams

9/19 - vs. Salisbury - 3-1 L
10/27 - at F&M - 2-0 L
11/4 - at F&M - 1-0 (3-1 SO) W

All-Time Series
 - Three previous meetings
 - Messiah holds a 3-0 record
 - Messiah Goals For: 13
 - Johns Hopkins Goals For: 0
 - Last Meeting:
     3-0 Messiah (1990, NCAA 1st Rd.)

FDU - Florham Devils
FDU Florham LogoLocation: Madison, N.J.
Coach: Jenn Noon (Ninth season, 117-81 with the Devils)
2018 Record: 17-4, 7-0 MAC Freedom
NCAA Tournament Appearance: Fourth
Last NCAA Tournament Result: 2014 Second Round, 5-1 loss vs. Skidmore
2018 NCAA Tournament First Round: 1-0 win vs. Susquehanna


About the Devils:
The FDU-Florham Devils played a tough schedule this season with all four of their losses coming against teams that made the NCAA Tournament this season. The Devils earned the bid into the Tournament with a 1-0 victory over the DeSales Bulldogs in the MAC Freedom Championship. After claiming the Automatic Qualifier last weekend, the Devils earned a 1-0 victory in the First Round on Wednesday against the Susquehanna River Hawks to claim a spot in the Second Round in Grantham.

The Devils have scored at least three goals in 10 matches this season and have registered a total of 59 scores on the season for a 2.68 goals per game average. That offense ranked as the second-best in the MAC Freedom this season, but their defense has been even better, allowing less than a goal a game with a 0.95 GAA. Senior defender Makayla Pak was named the MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year and leads the Devils to the 17th best goals against average in the nation this year.
Stats  |  Roster  |  Schedule

Matches vs. Tournament Teams

9/5 - at F&M - 1-0 L
9/8 - vs. Gwynedd Mercy - 3-0 W
9/24 - at Montclair St. - 1-0 L
10/9 - vs. TCNJ - 4-2 L
10/26 - at Rowan - 3-0 L

All-Time Series
 - Two previous meetings
 - Messiah holds an 2-0 record
 - Messiah Goals For: 5
 - Washington & Lee Goals For: 2
 - Last Meeting:
      2-1 Messiah (1986, MAC 2nd Rd.)

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