GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Monday night the Messiah men's lacrosse team will travel to Chester to take on the fourth-seeded Widener Pride in the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons and Pride will be rematching in the Play-In game once again, after squaring off in the same game and same location a year ago. The Falcons will be looking for a little revenge as they dropped last year's game 12-10.
This season, the Falcons and Pride met on Apr. 24 with the Pride earning a tight, 12-9 victory over Messiah to earn home field advantage for Monday's Play-In Game. The winner of the Play-In Game earns the right to face the top-seeded York Spartans on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
Fans should note, all MAC Commonwealth Tournament games require admission to attend. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for the following prices: Adults - $5, Senior Citizens - $4, Students (valid ID) & Children - $2, Pre-school (under 6) with Adult – FREE
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game:
No. 5 Messiah Falcons – 11-6 overall, 4-4 conference
The Falcons started the year on one of the stronger hot streaks in program history, beginning the season 8-2 with statement victories over Elizabethtown and Grove City. A lobsided victory over Alvernia was included in that early stretch, but since the calendar turned to April, Messiah has been hampered with injuries. Starting with a 19-6 loss against York on Apr. 1, Messiah went 1-4 to begin the month. A 20-15 victory over Lebanon Valley was their lone win of the stretch, however the Falcons hung tough with Stevenson on Apr. 18. The Falcons lost the game 14-9, but outplayed the Mustangs after the half.
Needing to win their final two games to earn a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament, the Falcons claimed a 14-10, come-from-behind victory against Hood. Then in the regular season finale, the Falcons claimed a commanding 13-6 victory over the Albright Lions to punch their ticket to the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
Chad Teresky has turned in one of the more impressive offensive seasons in Messiah men's lacrosse history. His 86 points, 37 assists, and 49 goals are all top three marks in program history. He trails only Jono Linebaugh's 99 points during the 2004 season for most points in a year while he is tied for third with 49 goals, just 10 behind Reed Horanburg's 59 tallies also during the 2004 season. He is also tied for the second-most assists in a season, also trailing Linebaugh's 53 helpers in 2004.
While Teresky has been phenomenal, it's far from a one-man show on offense.
Ben Ferrell and
Bobby Berg are both north of 50 points on the year while
Zach Drake,
Nathan Branson,
Jesse Lynch, and
Aaron Shaw have all found the twine at least 15 times.
Defensively,
David Gross,
Corum McCuller,
Ricky Pokrivka, and
Ryan Fascetta have all caused at least 15 turnovers this season and picked up at least 30 ground balls. The unit as a whole has allowed just 10.87 goals per game, the second-best mark in the conference this season.
No. 4 Widener Pride – 8-8 overall, 5-3 conference
In nearly the direct inverse to the Falcons, the Widener Pride started the season 1-5, but have turned the ship around and have played some inspired lacrosse down the stretch of the regular season. After an 18-10 loss against Elizabethtown on Mar. 18, the Pride went of a three-game winning streak against Colby, Arcadia, and Lebanon Valley to end March 4-5. In conference play, he Pride went 5-3 with their match-up against Messiah being their only game decided by less than eight goals. Outside of that match-up with the Falcons, the Pride either won big or lost big.
As you might expect from a .500 team, the Pride and their opponents have been pretty evenly matched on the year, with Widener being outscored by just 10 on the season (236-226). Individually, they are led by Connor Heisman, who leads the conference in shots per game at 10.94, scoring 3.56 goals per game for a total of 57 tallies on the season. Those 57 tallies are second in the conference. He's also added 24 assists for 81 total points on the year. Wesley Sporer, Samuel Haverstrom, and Matt Buckley have also scored at least 20 goals this season, but Heisman is the lone scorer north of 35 tallies on the year.
As a team, the Pride has struggled on the face-off this season, winning just .302 of face-offs on the season. Matt Shingle is tops on the team with a .339 success rate in 230 attempts.
Defensively, the Pride at eighth in the conference in goals against average, allowing 14.94 on the season, far and away the most of any team in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Eastern allows the second-most in the Tournament at 12.47.
When They Met
As mentioned, the Falcons and Pride met on Apr. 24 in Chester in one of the closer MAC Commonwealth contests of the season for both teams. The Pride won the meeting 12-9, thanks to a strong second half. At halftime, the Pride held a 5-4 lead, but the Falcons scored two goals in the first 90 seconds of the second half to take a 6-5 lead. After the Pride and Falcons traded goals, Widener went on a 6-2 run across the final 22 minutes to earn the 12-9 victory.
Connor Heisman led all scorers, netting four goals for the Pride while Matt Buckley added three. For the Falcons
Chad Teresky and
Nathan Branson each scored twice.
