INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Messiah men's soccer team claimed the 2021 MAC Commonwealth Championship on Saturday with the Falcons earning a 2-1 overtime victory over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen. On Monday afternoon, Messiah heard its named called for the 31st time in program history to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons were selected to host the Opening Weekend of the NCAA Tournament and will take on the Mount Aloysius Mounties in the First Round.
The Falcons will also welcome the Kenyon Lords and the Catholic Cardinals to Shoemaker Field this weekend. The First Round games will take place on Saturday with the winners of the two First Round games squaring off with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line on Sunday afternoon.
Game times for the Opening Weekend are still to be determined. Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com in the upcoming days to learn more about the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Mount Aloysius earned their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 victory over Medaille to claim the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC). The Mounties advanced to the National Tournament back in 2015, falling to Calvin, 1-0. Messiah and Mount Aloysius have never squared off before.
Mount Aloysius owns a 10-5-4 record this season and carried a 6-2-0 conference mark this season.
The Kenyon Lords arrive in Grantham as an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. Kenyon fell 1-0 to Denison to in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Game despite out shooting Denison 22-8 in the match. Keyon is making its 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including each of the last eight seasons.
The Catholic Cardinals is the final team coming to Grantham this weekend after winning the Landmark Conference Championship over the Drew Rangers by a 2-0 score. Catholic holds an overall record of 11-6-2 while going 5-1-1 in the Landmark this season. Catholic has been to the NCAA Tournament five times previously, including a trip in 2019.
Messiah is the most decorated men's soccer program in the history of Division III men's soccer. The Falcons have claimed 11 National Championships in program history, all of which have come since 2000. The Falcons have advanced to the Final Four 15 times and own an overall record of 89-17-5 in the NCAA Tournament all-time.
Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com in the coming days for more information on the NCAA Tournament.
