GRANTHAM, Pa. - For the sixth-straight season the No. 1 Messiah women's soccer team faced penalty kicks deep in the NCAA Tournament. Unlike the last five trips, Messiah triumphed in the game-deciding penalty kicks to earn a trip to their 13th Final Four in program history. The Falcons and the No. 24 Williams Ephs were deadlocked 2-2 after regulation and two overtime periods, forcing the penalty kicks.
 
Messiah took an early 3-1 lead in the penalties thanks to a pair of saves from Lydia Ewing. Things got dicey for the Falcons after Messiah missed consecutive kicks, but a final attempt from the Ephs rattled off the bar and sent the Messiah sideline into a frenzy. By advancing 3-2 on penalty kicks, Messiah wins their first penalty kick shootout since Nov. 18, 2006 when they defeated Calvin in the Sectional Final.
 
Penalty kicks were far from the only storyline on Sunday. Just 26 minutes in the match, Williams held a 2-0 lead after tallies in the fourth and 26th minutes. The Ephs held that 2-0 lead until Messiah scored a pair of goals in a two-minute span in the middle of the second half to turn the game on its head. Ellie Lengacher put the first goal on the board in the 69th minute before Maddie Kohl scored the second just two minutes later in the 71st minute.
 
Messiah was outshot 20-9 in the match, putting just four of their attempts on frame against seven from the Ephs.
 
After Messiah recorded their two tallies midway through the second half, both teams had quality chances to find the back of the net in the remaining 20 minutes of regulation and the two overtime periods. Neither the Falcons nor Ephs could connect on a game winner and the match moved to penalty kicks.
 
Messiah advances to take on Carnegie Mellon in the Final Four on Dec. 6 at 11:00 a.m. in Greensboro, N.C. The other Final Four match features the William Smith Herons and the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.
 
Ephs Set Stage for Comeback
Sunday's heavyweight battle started with a big right hook from the Ephs. In just the fourth minute, Williams' Georgia Lord swung a right-footed cross in from the left-side. The cross was sent dangerously toward the back post and, with the wind helping, the service fluttered its way off the post and into the back of the net. Ewing attempted to get to the ball, but the high cross was just beyond the reach of her outstretched hands.
 
The early goal put the Ephs in the driver's seat with a 1-0 advantage.
 
In the 26th minute, Williams delivered the second big blow of the match, this time coming off a tally from Claire Tolliver. The Ephs won possession in the midfield and sent a ball ahead to Tolliver, just a few steps inside Messiah territory. Some nifty footwork from Tolliver sprung the freshman forward loose on the attack. Tolliver took some space toward the middle of the field and unleashed a right-footed shot from just outside the box that tucked underneath the crossbar for a 2-0 Williams lead.
 
The Ephs took three more shots in the final 20 minutes of the half, forcing Ewing to make a save in the 35th minute, but the lead would remain two for Williams heading into the half.
 
During the first 45 minutes, Williams held a 10-1 advantage in shots over Messiah.
 
Second-Half Comeback
Messiah came out of halftime with a few adjustments to the starting line-up. The movement up front resulted in a few more chances for the Falcons. In the 51st minute, Messiah had their first quality look of the half when Abby Monko ran onto a through ball. The feed split a pair of defenders and Monko was in on goal. The Williams keeper came off her line and Monko dribbled around her, but was at too severe of an angle to get a shot on frame. Her attempt missed wide and the deficit remained 2-0.
 
After a few intermittent chances throughout the middle of the half, Messiah earned the next really dangerous moment in the 69th minute. Williams attempted a square pass in the middle of their end and it was picked off by Maddie Kohl in the center of the field. Kohl pushed her way to the right corner before feeding McKenzie Swartley for a cross. Ellie Lengacher had her defender posted up in the middle of the box and received the feed from Swartley. Lengacher turned to her right and as she was falling to the turf, poked a shot past the diving keeper to cut Williams' lead in half at 2-1.
 
The goal swung the momentum of the match firmly in the Falcons' favor. Just two minutes later, Messiah found the equalizer off a steal from Shelby Burger deep in the Ephs' end. In the 71st minute, Burger stole a pass in the far-left corner of the pitch and sent a left-footed cross to Maddie Kohl on the right side. The cross skipped in the box at the top of the six, but Kohl was waiting for the bounce, hammering a one-time strike into the back of the net for the equalizer.
 
Regulation Not Enough
Both the Falcons and Ephs kept fighting. Both had quality chances as regulation wound down, but the game would turn to overtime.
 
In the first overtime period, Williams registered the only two shots. The most dangerous look came in the final seconds of the period when Williams' Maria Chapman sent a shot that looked to be destined for the back of the net. Abby Monko was standing on the goal line and headed the attempt away, sending the period to a second overtime.
 
Once again, there were dangerous moments in the second overtime period and it was Williams with the better opportunities. With 30 seconds left on the clock, the Ephs' Georgia Lord broke free into a one-on-one chance with Lydia Ewing. Ewing came off her line and went to the ground to save the final shot of overtime, forcing penalty kicks to decide the advancing team.
 
Breaking the Streak
Messiah women's soccer has seen their season come to a close in penalty kicks in each of the last five seasons. That was not to be the case on Sunday afternoon as the Falcons weathered the penalties to advance to the National Semifinal by a 3-2 decision in penalty kicks.
 
With Messiah kicking first, both the Falcons and Ephs connected in the first round with Maddie Kohl making her attempt. After Megan Mansfield converted Messiah's second attempt to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead, Lydia Ewing guessed correctly and made a diving save to give Messiah the upper hand. Abby Monko drilled the next attempt before Ewing made another save to make it a 3-1 Messiah lead.
 
Consecutive misses for Messiah were sandwiched around a make for Williams setting up a must make in the final kick for the Ephs. An attempt by Victoria Laino rattled off the crossbar and Messiah claimed the penalty kick shootout by a 3-2 final.
 
It was Messiah's first victory in a penalty kick shootout in over a decade.
 
Impactful Weather
Grantham was forecasted to receive some overnight rain on Saturday evening, but heavy rainfall (and a little bit of snow) on Saturday night made Shoemaker Field unplayable for Sunday's Sectional Final. As a result, the match was moved off the grass surface on Shoemaker Field to the Lacrosse Turf, an infill turf surface.
 
Additionally, the wind played a significant factor in Sunday's game. All four goals scored on Sunday came with the wind at the scoring team's back.
 
What's Up Next
As mentioned, the Falcons advance to the 13th Final Four in program history and will take on Carnegie Mellon on Dec. 6 at 11:00 a.m. in the National Semifinal. The Final Four will take place at the UNC-Greensboro Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
 
The Falcons and Tartans met earlier this season on Sept. 14 in Grantham, with the Falcons earning a 3-0 victory. Messiah outshot the Tartans 20-5 in the contest, but Carnegie Mellon had a number of dangerous moments early in the match. Maddie Kohl, Kylie Firestone, and Rebecca Ritchie all scored for Messiah in the earlier meeting.