GRANTHAM, Pa. – After advancing through the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 5 Messiah women's soccer team heads to Pittsburgh to take on the No. 18 Emory Eagles in the Sweet 16 on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons have advanced to the Sweet 16 on 20 different occasions in program history.
 
Playing in the other Sectional Semifinal will be the No. 7 Carnegie Mellon Tartans and the Washington University in St. Louis Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The winners from Saturday will square off in the Elite Eight on Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
 
Fans should note that since this is an NCAA Tournament event, tickets are required for all fans. The pricing for tickets are as follows: Adults: $6, Senior Citizens - $3, Students (valid ID) - $3, Children - $2, Children under 3 – FREE.
 
See below for a quick preview of the four teams heading to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
 

No. 5 Messiah University Falcons

 
Last weekend the Messiah women's soccer team advanced through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Penn State Berks and a 1-0 victory over Wesleyan University. The Falcons scored all four of their goals last weekend in the second half, scoring three against the Nittany Lions on goals from Brianna Seip, Rachael Tirjan, and Kylie Firestone. On Sunday in the Second Round, Korinne Kovatch netted a penalty kick in the 72nd minute for the lone tally in a 1-0 victory over Wesleyan.
 
While the Falcons' offense does not have the overwhelming firepower than they have had at times over the last two decades, they can certainly get the job done. Messiah ranks 27th in the country, scoring 3.18 goals per game and have scored multiple goals in 16 matches this season. The Falcons had netted north of five goals on seven occasions. While the offense has been strong, the defense has been even better. Messiah has allowed just seven goals this season and after giving up two goals to Stevens in the season opener, Messiah has not allowed multiple goals in a game all year. The Falcons' defense ranks sixth in the nation with a 0.318 goals against average and 16 shutouts.
 
Players to Watch
    #3 - Rachael Tirjan - 12 goals, 7 assists, 31 points, 7 game-winning goals, 52 shots
    #24 Kylie Firestone - 10 goals, 5 assists, 25 points, 2 game-winning goals, 34 shots
    #27 Brianna Seip - 10 goals, 2 assists, 22 points, 2 game-winning goals, 42 shots
 

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No. 18 Emory University Eagles

 
Last weekend the Emory Eagles hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and earned a comfortable 7-0 victory over Piedmont before needing penalty kicks to advance past Centre in the Second Round. After 90 minutes the two sides were tied 2-2 and it was Centre that struck first in the overtime period, scoring in the 97th minute. Emory countered with a goal in the 102nd minute to force penalty kicks. Once in the penalty kicks the Eagles survived by a 4-2 margin, punching their ticket to the second weekend.
 
After a shaky start to the season that saw the Eagles going 1-2-0 in their first three games of the season, Emory ripped off 10-straight victories. In that winning streak, Emory picked up six shutouts while outscoring their opponents 36-4. Back-to-back losses to Carnegie Mellon (3-1) and Case Western Reserve (1-0) on the road brought the Eagles down to earth, but a 3-2 victory over Rochester ended the regular season in the win column. On the season, Emory has outscored their opponents 55-15.
 
Players to Watch
    #25 Kylie Hall – 9 goals, 16 assists, 34 points, 4 game-winning goals, 67 shots
    #13 Grace Reyer – 8 goals, 3 assists, 19 points, 2 game-winning goals, 42 shots
    #8 Mia Han – 7 goals, 2 assists, 3 game-winning goals, 51 shots
 
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Eagles have met just twice in their programs' history with both meetings coming in 2012. The Eagles won the regular season meeting on Sept. 1 by a 2-1 final; however, the Falcons avenged that loss in the 2012 National Championship Game, winning 1-0 over Emory exactly three months later on Dec. 1.
 

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No. 7 Carnegie Mellon University Tartans

 
The Tartans hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament last weekend and earned a pair of convincing victories with a 6-0 win over Bryn Athyn and a 2-0 victory over No. 10 Calvin. Against Bryn Athyn, the Tartans scored five second-half tallies en route to the runaway victory. A tougher test against Calvin resulted in a 2-0 triumph with the Tartans scoring in the 13th and 54th minutes.
 
On the season, the Tartans put together a stellar 14-2-2 record playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country the United Athletic Association. Both their scoring offense and defense rank in the 40's nationally, but they have gotten the clutch goals when they have needed them The Tartans have played in 12 matches decided by two goals or fewer. In those contests they hold an 8-2-2 record, including four victories by scores of 1-0.
 
Players to Watch
    #11 Alex Adams – 11 goals, 2 assists, 14 points, 4 game-winning goals, 41 shots
    #35 Catherine MacNichol – 9 goals, 18 points, 2 game-winning goals, 23 shots
    #1 Olivia Brand – 0.79 GAA, .703 save percentage, 26 saves, 12-2-2 record, 1250 minutes played
 
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Tartans have met four times on the soccer pitch, including the 2019 National Semifinal that finished in a 1-1 draw. The Falcons advanced to the National Championship by way of penalty kicks. Overall, the Falcons hold a 3-0-1 overall record against the Tartans with the two teams meeting in 2017, 2018, and twice in 2019. Messiah has outscored Carnegie Mellon 10-3 all-time.
 

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Washington University in St. Louis Bears

 
Last weekend the WashU Bears earned a pair of tight victories in Waverly, Iowa with victories over St. Catherine (2-1) and Wartburg (3-1) to advance to this weekend's Sweet 16. In their First Round match, the Bears needed overtime to get past St. Katherine. Grace Ehlery netted the game winner with under three minutes left in the second overtime period. A tight battle with nationally-ranked Wartberg followed, but the Bears prevailed to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 17th time in program history.
 
On the season, WashU has gotten the job done in tight games all year long. They have outscored their opponents by just nine (28-19) and have played only two game that was decided by more than two goals – a 4-0 victory vs. Millikin and a 3-0 loss at Emory. The other 19 matches have been down to the wire. Included in those tight games have been three 0-0 draws and a pair of 1-1 draws. On the year, the Bears have scored more than two goals in a game just four times.
 
Players to Watch
    #15 Maggie Brett – 11 goals, 7 assists, 29 points, 4 game-winning goals, 50 shots
    #8 Anna Vicsovich – 2 goals, 5 assists, 9 points, 28 shots
    #33 Sidney Conner – 0.90 GAA, .765 save percentage, 62 saves, 10-5-6 record, 1894 minutes played
 
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Bears have squared off three times with all three meetings coming deep in the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, the Bears earned a penalty kick victory over Messiah in the 2016 National Championship. Prior to that, Messiah claimed the 2009 National Championship over WashU by a 1-0 final score. The Bears also advanced past the Falcons in the 2015 Final Four in penalty kicks.

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