GRANTHAM, Pa. - When the Falcons step on Shoemaker Field Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. for their Sweet 16 matchup against Trinity (TX), the Messiah women's soccer team will be making their 19th appearance in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in the last 20 seasons. The Falcons earned a pair of shutout victories over Lesley (5-0) and Randolph-Macon (4-0) last weekend to punch their ticket into the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Messiah was selected to host this weekend, the next two rounds of play and the Falcons will welcome the Trinity (TX) Tigers, No. 24 Williams Ephs, and No. 13 Tufts Jumbos to Grantham for the upcoming rounds of play.
Messiah will take on the Trinity (TX) Tigers at 11:00 a.m. in the first of two Sectional Semifinal matches on Shoemaker Field. Conference-foes, Williams and Tufts will play in an all New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Sectional Semifinal at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The winners of the two semifinal matches will play in a Sectional Final game on 1:00 p.m. on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Please Note: Tickets are required for admission to the NCAA Sectional Rounds. Tickets can be bought at the gate with prices as follows:
General Admission: $6 | Senior Citizen: $3 | Students: $3 | Children (ages 3-12): $2
Messiah Students: A generous donor has offered to cover the cost of admission for all Messiah students (with valid Messiah ID) for any game the Falcons compete in this weekend. Messiah students will need to show their ID at the front gate to receive complimentary admission to the event.
See below for a quick preview of the four teams heading to Grantham this weekend:
No. 1 Messiah Falcons
20-1-1, 7-0-1 MAC Commonwealth
Team Homepage | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Location: Grantham, Pa.
Coach: Scott Frey (20th season, 418-24-27 with the Falcons)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 20th (68-9-8 Tournament Record)
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: National Champions (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)
About the Falcons:
Playing in their 20th-straight NCAA Tournament, the Falcons earned a pair of impressive shutouts in the opening weekend with a 5-0 victory over Lesley and a 4-0 triumph over previously unbeaten Randolph-Macon. Across the two games, Messiah outshot their opponents 44-12, putting 23 shots on target en route to the Sweet 16. Through two games in the Tournament, Messiah is tied with the University of Chicago for the most goals scored in the Tournament with nine tallies.
The offense has been prolific this season, scoring the seventh most goals per game in the nation, averaging 3.77 goals per contest. While the offense has been strong, the defense has been better. The Falcons are allowing 0.270 goals per contest, the fourth-lowest mark in the country through the regular season. Messiah and TCNJ are the only two teams in the country to have both a top-10 scoring offense and a top-10 defense.
Brooke Firestone was honored as the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season after scoring 19 goals and picking up five assists. Joining Firestone with First Team honors were teammates Ellie Lengacher (10 goals, 15 assists), Sunny Gelnovatch (six goals, eight assists), Kayla Herr (four goals, one assist), Emily D'Amico (two assists), and Barb Foster (one goal). A trio of Falcons earned Second Team accolades with Maddie Kohl (nine goals, 10 assists), Abby Monko (two assists), and Lydia Ewing (.912 save percentage, 0.27 GAA, 52 saves) receiving laurels this season.
Trinity (TX) Tigers
17-3-1, 8-0-0 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Team Homepage | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Coach: Dylan Harrison (4th season, 76-8-2 with the Tigers)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 25th (30-18-9 Tournament Record)
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: National Runner-Up (2013)
About the Tigers:
The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament as an at-large qualifier out of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after falling to Southwestern (TX) in penalty kicks in the Conference Championship game. The Tigers traveled to Hardin-Simmons for the opening weekend, defeating Pacific Lutheran 2-1 in double overtime in the First Round. In the Second Round, the Tigers edged Hardin-Simmons 2-0, despite being outshot 14-9 in the match. The Second Round victory that moved Trinity into the Sectional Semifinal was a hard-fought battle that featured 28 total fouls and a half dozen yellow cards, including five given to the Tigers.
The Tigers bring both a strong offense and defense into Grantham, with both units ranking in the top-25 in a number of national categories. The Tigers' offense is averaging exactly three goals per game (23rd in the country) while also ranking 14th nationally with 53 assists and 20th in points with 179. Leading the offense are a pair of sophomores. Classmates Camryn Beall (nine goals, one assist) and Kaity Ward (seven goals, seven assists) were both named First Team All-SCAC this season.
Defensively, the Tigers have recorded 15 shutouts this season, allowing nine goals on the year for a 0.445 goals-against average, good for 13th in the nation. Senior defender Kristen Canepa anchors the back line for the Tigers. She earned her second SCAC Defensive Player of the Year this season.
No. 24 Williams Ephs
10-5-3, 6-3-1 New England Small College Athletic Conference
Team Homepage | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Location: Williamstown, Mass.
Coach: Michelyne Pinard (17th season, 267-51-37 with the Ephs)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 20th (43-16-10 Tournament Record)
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: National Champions (2015, 2017, 2018)
About the Ephs:
The two-time defending National Champion Ephs are back in the Sweet 16 after escaping the opening rounds hosted by MIT last weekend. The Ephs turned away the Gettysburg Bullets in the First Round, before topping the No. 5 MIT Engineers in the Second Round in penalty kicks. Williams scored a late equalizer before advancing 5-4 in penalty kicks to move into the Sweet 16.
On Saturday, the Ephs will square off with a familiar foe in NESCAC rival Tufts. In their last 15 meetings, Williams owns a 13-0-2 record against the Jumbos, including a 1-0 victory during the regular season this year. This season the Ephs have scored just 32 goals for a 1.78 goals per game average (200th in the country this season). Their defense is allowing north of a goal per game with a 1.07 GAA, placing them 128th in the country. While the Ephs' numbers do not jump off the page, Williams is a team that has been here before. In recent years, the Ephs have been the team to beat nationally, claiming the last two National Titles and three in the last four seasons.
Junior Victoria Laino was named the NESCAC Player of the year and is the lone Eph with more than three goals on the season with eight tallies and a pair of assists to her name for a team-high 18 points. Defensively, Williams is led by senior Nkem Iregbulem, who earned First Team All-NESCAC.
No. 13 Tufts Jumbos
14-3-2, 7-2-1 New England Small College Athletic Conference
Team Homepage | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Location: Medford, Mass.
Coach: Martha Whiting (21st season, 200-107-41 with the Jumbos)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: Eighth (13-6-4 Tournament Record)
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: National Runner-Up (2000)
About the Jumbos:
Tufts earned the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament after a 7-2-1 effort in the regular season, but was ousted from the Playoff in the conference semifinals by eventual Conference Champion Amherst. Tufts earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and defeated SUNY Cortland 3-1 in the First Round before upsetting No. 4 TCNJ in the Second Round by a 2-0 final. The Jumbos scored a pair of late second-half goals to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2005.
Like Williams, the Jumbos play in the tough NESCAC which impacts their national rankings in many statistics. The Jumbos rank 97th in scoring offense, averaging 2.26 goals per game while allowing 0.71 goals per game. Tufts is led on the offensive end by a pair of juniors that earned First-Team All-Conference with Liz Reed and Sophie Lloyd each netting nine goals this season. Reed has added nine assists while Lloyd has dished out six for 27 and 24 points, respectively. Defensively, senior Sarah Maloney earned her second First Team All-Conference honor, anchoring the defensive effort.
