GREENSBORO, N.C. - Lydia Ewing made three saves in a penalty kick shootout to give the No. 1 Messiah women's soccer team a trip to their 10th National Championship Game in program history. The Falcons allowed an early goal in the 26th minute before Kayla Herr connected on an equalizer in the 78th minute to force overtime.

After 20 minutes of scoreless overtime, the game turned to penalty kicks. Lydia Ewing came up huge for the Falcons, stopping three of the Tartans four attempts to give Messiah the 3-1 victory in the shootout.

Messiah will compete for their sixth National Championship in program history tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. against No. 2 William Smith Herons. Messiah and William Smith met exactly two months ago on Sept. 7 with the Herons earning a 2-0 victory.

William Smith earned their spot in the Final with a 2-0 victory over Pomona-Pitzer on Friday afternoon.

Early Messiah Chances
Messiah had a number of quality chances in the early going of Friday's match. Messiah slipped a number of balls behind the Tartans' backline, but were unable to find the back of the net despite eight shots in the first 23 minutes of the match. During that span, Carnegie Mellon attempted a pair of shots, missing the frame with both.

Messiah's best chances in the early going came on a pair of attempts from Rebecca Ritchie in the 13th minute that missed the frame. In the 18th minute, Maddie Kohl whipped a corner kick toward the back post for Kayla Herr. The header attempt from Herr missed just wide of the left post and the game remained scoreless.

Tartans Strike First
Against the run of play, the Tartans put together a scoring chance in the 26th minute. After carrying possession into the right corner, Helena Spencer sent a low cross into the box, toward the near post. A miscommunication by Messiah's backline allowed the ball to fall loose at the top of the six. The Tartans' leading scorer, Alex Adams, ran onto the ball and put Carnegie Mellon on the board with her 18th goal of the season.

Following their goal, the Tartans seemed to step up their game with consistent pressure through the next stretch of the game. The Tartans attempted just two shots in the final 20 minutes of the half, but more importantly held Messiah to just one attempt, a saved shot from Ellie Lengacher in the 28th minute.

Looking for the Equalizer
Messiah trailed 1-0 at the half, but held a 9-5 advantage in shots through the first 45 minutes of the game. The Falcons looked for an equalizer early in the second half, with a flurry of shots in a five-minute span from the 52nd to 57th minutes. During that five-minute span, the Falcons registered five shots, putting two on frame with attempts from Rebecca Ritchie and Brooke Firestone being turned away by the Tartans' keeper.

Messiah continued to pressure throughout the middle portion of the half, but could not connect on shots in the 68th and 70th minutes.

Herr Equalizes from Downtown
Things would change for the Falcons in the 78th minute, when Brooke Firestone slipped a square ball to Kayla Herr above the box. From about 25 yards out, Herr attempted a shot through traffic toward the left post. The low shot, skipped off the base of the post before nestling in the back of the net, leveling the match 1-1.

The tally was Herr's fifth score of the season, but her first since a tally in the regular season finale against Stevenson on Oct. 29.

Weathering Overtime Storm
The 1-1 score held through the final 13 minutes despite a few dangerous moments down the stretch for both sides. Lydia Ewing made a diving save toward the right post in the final 10 seconds of regulation and the National Semifinal turned to overtime.

Heading to overtime, the wind picked up slightly and the Tartans played the breeze at their back for the first 10 minutes of overtime. During that first overtime period, the Tartans outshot the Falcons 3-1 with Emily D'Amico making the play of the day for the Falcons in the 99th minute. With Ewing on the far post, recovering after tipping the initial service, the Tartans' Tara Durstewitz took a shot toward the right-side of the goal mouth that looked to be the game winner.

Messiah's Emily D'Amico was positioned on the goal line and cleared the shot out of danger, preserve the game and force a second overtime period.

The Tartans took the only shot of the second overtime, missing it high in the 107th minute, and the match moved to penalty kicks.

Ewing Takes Center Stage
As the match moved to penalty kicks, Messiah's keeper Lydia Ewing took center stage for Messiah. With Messiah facing penalty kicks for the second time in as many weeks, Ewing stepped up big, making three saves on the four shots she faced to give Messiah a 3-1 victory in the shootout, advancing them to their 10th National Championship Game in program history.

Maddie Kohl started off the shootout by making her first attempt for the Falcons. After Ewing made a diving save to her right, Messiah held a 1-0 lead. Both Megan Mansfield and the Tartans' Maddy Lui made their attempts in the second round of kicks to make it a 2-1 Messiah lead.

In the third round, both keepers made saves, but Brooke Firestone gave Messiah a 3-1 lead with a make in the fourth round. Ewing's third save of the shootout sealed the deal and sent the Falcons to the National Championship Game.

Heading to the National Championship Game
The National Championship Game will pit the No. 1 Messiah Falcons against the No 2 William Smith Herons at 2:30 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. The Falcons and Herons have a bit of a history, including a 2-0 William Smith victory earlier this season on Sept. 7. The Herons hold an overall record of 4-5-3 against Messiah in a closely contested series.

These two foes have met on the National Stage three times in their history with Messiah earning shutout victories in the National Semifinal in 2008 (3-0), 2010 (4-0), and 2011 (1-0). This will be the first time that Messiah and William Smith will meet in the National Championship Game.