GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 10 Messiah women's lacrosse team advanced through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with a 20-3 victory over the Illinois Wesleyan Titans in the Second Round on Sunday. The Falcons have advanced to play the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons in the Sweet Sixteen in Waterville, Maine on the campus of Colby College on Saturday.
Joining Messiah and SUNY Cortland in their corner of the bracket is William Smith and St. John Fisher. The William Smith Herons knocked off the No. 1 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats to earn their spot in the Regional Round. The Cardinals and Herons will square off right before Messiah and SUNY Cortland with the two winners playing on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
The Final Four will take place in Salem, Va. on May 22, with a National Champion crowned on May 23.
No. 10 Messiah Falcons – 17-0, 8-0 MAC Commonwealth
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The Falcons earned a spot in the Sweet 16 with a 20-3 victory over the Illinois Wesleyan Titans in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Falcons took an early 6-1 lead before a 41-minute rain delay halted the game momentarily. The lighting did little to slow down the Falcons as Messiah rolled to the victory and their fifth-ever appearance in the Sweet 16.
Messiah qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAC Commonwealth Championship over the York Spartans and earned a First Round Bye, thanks to their perfect 16-0 record. That record is still perfect, after the sizable victory over the Titans.
Rachel Delate was named the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year and lived up to the billing recording eight points on three goals and five assists in her first NCAA Tournament game against the Titans. Messiah's balanced offensive attack have five other Falcons with 40-plus points with
Abby Howard (46 goals),
Emma Lytle (40), and
Hope Flack (40) with at least 40 goals.
No. 13 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons – 14-1, 8-0 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)
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The Red Dragons won a pair of games over the weekend to advance to the Sweet 16 with a victory over Transylvania, 18-5, and then a win over the host Rhodes College Lynx 23-12 in the Second Round. Hannah Lorenzen put the team on her back in the Second Round with 10 goals and 11 points to move the Red Dragons into the second weekend. Lorenzen's set the tone all season long, but Sunday's Second Round game was her best of the season. She leads the team with 56 goals, 18 assists, and a total of 74 points.
Outside of Lorenzen, the Red Dragons have four others with 34-plus points on the season. Cecilia Procopio and Toni Cashman are both north of 40 points with Porcopio facilitating the offense with 35 assists and Cashman netting 34 goals, second on the team.
The Red Dragons enter the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament on a 14-game winning streak. SUNY Cortland dropped their first game of the season against Ithaca, 18-11, but have rattled off 14-straight, including a victory in the SUNYAC Championship against Brockport.
No. 9 St. John Fisher Cardinals – 16-1, 7-0 Empire 8
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The St. John Fisher Cardinals claimed a pair of victories last weekend in Lancaster to advance to the Sweet 16. The Cardinals rolled Cazenovia 25-0 in the First Round before defeating the Catholic Cardinals 15-9 in the Second Round to earn a spot in the Sweet 16 this weekend.
The Cardinals carry a 16-1 overall record into the second weekend of the Tournament and are winners of the Empire 8, after defeating Nazareth 13-3 in the Conference Championship Game. The only loss of the season that St. John Fisher has suffered came at the hands of SUNY Cortland back on Mar. 31 in a low-scoring 6-3 contest in Cortland.
The Cardinals are led by Empire 8 Offensive Player Sydney DeGirolamo, who has recorded a team-high 67 points with 32 goals and 35 assists. Keep an eye on Brittany Halpin, Alyssa Sproule, and Logan Chase on the offensive end, as all three have north of 45 points with Sproule leading the team with 48 goals on the season.
Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Shannon Foster anchors the defensive unit that is allowing just 4.00 goals per game, the fifth-best mark in the country.
No. 16 William Smith Herons – 10-4, 6-2 Liberty League
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The William Smith Herons are coming off a 13-5 victory over the No. 1 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats to earn a spot in the Sweet Sixteen this weekend. The Herons clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament with a victory in the Liberty League Title Game over Ithaca. William Smith owns a 10-4 overall record. The Herons dropped a pair of regular season contests against Ithaca, but avenged those losses with the victory in the Conference Championship Game.
The Sweet Sixteen game against St. John Fisher is a rematch of a match from earlier this season when the Cardinals earned a 7-6 victory on Mar. 20, the season opener for the Herons.
Offensively, Maddie Montgomery leads the Herons with 56 points on a team-high 48 goals while earning Liberty League Rookie of the Year honors. Four additional Herons have 20-plus goals with Ellie Burns and Anna Murphy with 25 and 23 goals, respectively. Both Payton McMahon and Kelsey Williams have accumulated exactly 20 goals this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, Mekayla Montgomery earned her second-straight Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year honor, leading a unit that has allowed just 8.50 goals per game this season.
