First & Second Round Homepage
Grantham, PA - For the second-consecutive season, Messiah College women's soccer is preparing to host the First and Second Round of the NCAA Division III Championships. The
defending champions from a year ago, the Falcons are looking for their
fourth national title in the past five years.
Messiah will start its title-defense with a First Round match-up with Roger Williams College on Saturday, Nov. 10. Game time is set for 11:00 a.m. on Shoemaker Field. A neutral-site game with Grove City College and Western Connecticut State University will follow at 1:30 p.m.
The winners from Saturday's games will meet on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 5:00 p.m.
Below is a snapshot of the four teams that will battle this weekend for the right to move to next weekend's Third Round and Quarterfinals.
(Fans are also encouraged to visit D3Soccer.com for additional coverage of the Championships Tournament.)
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#1 Messiah College Falcons |
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Location: Grantham, PA
Head Coach: Scott Frey (13th season, 270-14-13 career record at Messiah)
2012 Record: 18-1-1, 9-0 Commonwealth Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 13th
Last NCAA Appearance Result: 2011 NCAA Champions, 3-1 over Wheaton College (Ill.)
How the Falcons got here: Messiah College advances into the NCAA Championships for the 13th-straight year after winning the Commonwealth Championship for the sixth-straight season. The Falcons are ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll and are the defending NCAA Division III National Champions. In total, Messiah owns four national titles in their program's history. This year, the Falcons have done their work with great balance in all fields. Senior Alex Brandt, the Commonwealth POY and one of seven All-Commonwealth players, leads the team in assists (11) and is tied for the lead in goals (13) with classmate Rachel Scheibeler. Freshman Nikki Elsaesser (9 goals, 8 assists) and junior Alicia Frey (10 goals, 4 assists) are two other 20+ point scorers for Messiah. Defensively, Messiah is third in the nation with a 0.24 goals against average thanks to the leadership of seniors Elizabeth Phillips, Anne Trapp, and co., and freshman keeper Audra Larson (0.24 goals against average).
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Roger Williams University |
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Location: Bristol, RI
Head Coach: Tim Moody (2nd season, 26-13-4 at Roger Williams)
2012 Record: 12-6-3, 7-1-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 4th
Last NCAA Appearance Result: 2011 First Round loss, 3-0 to TCNJ
How the Hawks got here: Roger Williams upset top-seeded Gordon College 1-0 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, advancing to the NCAAs as an Automatic Qualifier. The Hawks' only loss in the conference regular-season was to Gordon, as they also tied with Salve Regina. They scored just 35 goals all season, but had five players score at least four times. Juniors Katie Lydon and Hannah Noel each collected 19 points, while sophomore Kristen Tetreault and freshman Mariah Kaiser added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Junior keeper Stephanie Jaques played every minute of the Hawks' season, making 78 saves en route to a 1.01 goals against average.
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Grove City College |
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Location: Grove City, PA
Head Coach: Melissa Lamie (20th season, 216-146-29 at Grove City)
2012 Record: 15-3-2, 7-2 Presidents' Athletic Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 3rd
Last NCAA Appearance Result: 2003 First Round loss, 2-0 to Ithaca College
How the Wolverines got here: Grove City enters the NCAA field by way of an at-large bid after falling to Thomas More on penalty kicks in their conference final. The Wolverines went 7-2 in the PAC, losing only to Thomas More and Washington & Jefferson in the regular-season. Grove City is paced offensively by juniors Sam Weber (12 goals, 4 assists), Chelsea Tarolli (5 goals, 4 assists) and Sarah Cessar (4 goals, 4 assists), and senior Grace Rieman (3 goals, 6 assists). Sophomore keeper Kristi Lathrop carries a 0.74 goals against average in 19 starts, as the Wolverines were second in the PAC with a 0.70 goals against average as a team. No stranger to late-game drama, Grove City played five overtimes games (3-1-1) this season in addition to their PK shootout with Thomas More.
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Western Connecticut State University |
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Location: Danbury, CT
Head Coach: Joe Mingachos (16th season, 258-68-24 at Western Connecticut)
2012 Record: 15-4-3, 5-2 Little East Conference
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 10th
Last NCAA Appearance Result: 2010 First Round loss, 1-0 to Rochester University
How the Colonials got here: The Colonials enter the NCAA Championships by way of an at-large bid after losing to UMass-Boston in the Little East Conference Championship. Despite the 1-0 loss in the conference final, Western Connecticut reached the 15-win level for the 13th time in Coach Mingachos' 16 years at the helm. Junior Ariana D'Aurio has scored a third of the Colonials' goals this season (15), adding three assists for 33 total points. Senior Tracey Sales (7 goals, 6 assists) has 20 points, while freshman Kelsey Chacho and sophomore Sarah Menta each collected four goals and three assists, respectively. Senior keepers Jamie Trayer and Caitlin Avery combined for a 0.57 goals against average as the Colonials allowed just 13 goals all season to their opponents.
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