OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The third-seeded Messiah Field Hockey team traveled to second-seeded Stevenson University on Wednesday night to battle for a spot in the 2026 Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Championship, with the Mustangs earning the win in penalty strokes, 4-3. The Falcons scored an early goal with
Chelsea Carlisle finding
Ellie Lefever who sent the ball to the front of the cage, where
Addie Weiler tipped it in to take a 1-0 lead. The Mustangs took advantage of two first quarter penalty corners, taking a 2-1 lead after the first 15 minutes of play.
Casey Tyrrell found
Ellie Lefever for the lone goal of the second quarter, tying the score 2-2 heading into halftime.
Aubrey Clark tallied the go-ahead goal in the 43
rd minute, with the Falcon lead holding for nearly 10 minutes before Stevenson scored the equalizer in the 52
nd minute to force the game into overtime. After 20 scoreless minutes, the teams went to penalty strokes, where the Mustangs outshot Messiah 4-3 to advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship.
The Falcons will tune-in to the 2026 NCAA DIII field hockey championship
selection show on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 9:00 p.m. to see if they receive an at-large bid. The tournament is comprised of 28 teams with 18 automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large bids.
First Half
The Falcons put the offensive pressure on early, earning a penalty corner just 27 seconds into play.
Aubrey Clark fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Mustangs goalie before play returned to the middle of the field. Messiah pushed forward again, earning a penalty corner at the 1:46 mark, leading to a pass from
Chelsea Carlisle to
Ellie Lefever being sent to the front of the cage, where
Addie Weiler tipped it to the back of the cage to put the Falcons on the board. The Mustangs answered less than two minutes later, when they converted their first penalty corner opportunity to level the score at 1-1. Play remained back-and-forth for the next four minutes before
Ellie Lefever had a pair of shots on goal saved by the Stevenson goalie.
Addie Weiler had a shot blocked before the Falcons earned a third penalty corner.
Chelsea Carlisle looked to regain the lead but had her shot blocked. The Mustangs earned a penalty corner at the 10-minute mark but a shot on goal was saved by
Joy Lippert.
Addie Musser made a defensive save to keep the score at 1-1 before a shot from the Mustangs hit the post. A late corner for the Mustangs resulted in their second goal, taking a 2-1 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter opened much the same, with the Falcons holding a slight advantage in possession.
Taylor Wielechowski looked to notch the score with a shot on goal in the 18
th minute, but the Stevenson goalie was able to make the save. The Falcons earned the first penalty corner of the second quarter and
Casey Tyrrell connected with
Ellie Lefever who found the back of the cage to level the score at 2-2. The Falcons looked to regain the lead with a penalty corner a minute later but the Mustangs defense prevented a shot. Messiah tallied three penalty corners in the final two minutes, with
Aubrey Clark and
Lindsey Campione firing shots on goal that forced saves from the Stevenson goalie as the score remained 2-2 heading into halftime.
Second Half
The Mustangs tallied an early shot before the teams spent the majority of the quarter in the middle third.
Naomi Lyter and
Aubrey Clark had shots saved by the Stevenson goalie before Messiah earned the first penalty corner of the third.
Ellie Lefever missed a shot just wide before Messiah was awarded a second penalty corner.
Aubrey Clark fired a shot that was blocked before she fired the rebound into the back of the cage to give Messiah the 3-2 lead with one quarter to play.
An early shot from
Caitlyn Weatherill was saved before a penalty corner for the Falcons led to shots from
Ellie Lefever and
Casey Tyrrell being blocked by Mustangs defenders. The Falcons continued to control possession until the Mustangs used a quick transition to net a goal and tie the score 3-3.
Chelsea Carlisle fired a shot on goal, but the Stevenson goalie made the save and the game headed to overtime tied 3-3.
Overtime
The Mustangs earned a penalty corner, but the shot fired was blocked by the Messiah defense. The Mustangs fired another shot that was blocked before
Joy Lippert made three consecutive saves to keep Stevenson from scoring. The Falcons then earned three penalty corners with a shot from
Ellie Lefever blocked and a second shot from Lefever saved as the teams moved to double overtime.
Chelsea Carlisle fired an early shot on goal that was saved by the Stevenson goalie before a penalty corner for Messiah resulted in a second shot from Carlisle saved by the Stevenson goalie.
Ellie Lefever missed a shot just wide before five minutes of back-and-forth play left both teams scoreless, moving to penalty strokes. The Mustangs outshot the Falcons 4-3 and earned the win to advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship.
Stats
Aubrey Clark,
Ellie Lefever, and
Addie Weiler each tallied goals with
Chelsea Carlisle, Lefever, and
Casey Tyrrell tallying assists.
Up Next
The Falcons will tune-in to the 2026 NCAA DIII field hockey championship
selection show on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 9:00 p.m. to see if they receive an at-large bid. The tournament is comprised of 28 teams with 18 automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large bids.
