Location: Grantham, PA
Coach: Brad McCarty (5th season, 110-4-4 at Messiah entering Final Four)
2013 Record: 20-1-1, 9-0 Commonwealth Conference
2013 NCAA First Round: Defeated Centenary College 9-1 (at Salisbury)
2013 NCAA Second Round: Defeated No. 15 Salisbury College 3-0 (at Salisbury)
2013 NCAA Sectional Semifinal: Defeated Kenyon College 2-1 (at Messiah)
2013 NCAA Sectional Final: Defeated No. 14 Franklin & Marshall College 4-1 (at Messiah)
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 25th (70-12-5 all-time including 2013)
NCAA Final Four Appearance: 14th (1986, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012)
Messiah as a Team in Top-40 National Statistics: The Falcons are 3rd in points per game (9.83), goals per game (3.46), total goals (83), total assists (70), and total points (236); 4th in assists per game (2.92); and 10th in goals against average (0.58).
Messiah Players in Top-40 National Statistics: Joshua Wood is 6th in goals (21), 7th in points (47), 16th in goals per game (0.88), and 18th in points per game (1.96);
Jack Thompson is 4th in assists per game (0.81) and total assists (17);
Jeremy Payne is 24th in total points (39), 31st in total goals (15), and 33rd in total assists (9);
Mike Kovach is 33rd in total assists (9); Keeper
Brandon West is 10th in goals against average (0.552).
How the Falcons got here: Messiah's 18 goals scored in the NCAA Tournament may be bloated by their 9-0 win over Centenary, but don't be deceived: the Falcons are playing well. They've earned quality wins over No. 15 Salisbury University and upstart Kenyon College, and then scored four times against No. 14 Franklin & Marshall to account for the only goals the Diplomats surrendered outside of the Centennial Conference.
The Falcons are unbeaten in their last 15 games (14-0-1) and can dominate games on offense, defense, and in the midfield. Their lineup includes seven double-digit point scorers led by
Joshua Wood (21g, 5a),
Jeremy Payne (15g, 9a), and
Jack Thompson (5g, 17a).
Mike Kovach (6g, 9a),
Danny Brandt (7g, 2a),
Sheldon Myer (5g, 5a), and
Brian Ramirez (5g, 4a) round out that group. Astonishingly, the last seven goals for Messiah have been scored by seven different players, and 10 different players have already scored in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Messiah is attempting more than four times as many shots per game as their opponents (23.3 to 5.23), but the Falcons' lone offensive weakness might be a 0.425 shots on goal percentage. Still, teams have struggled to play straight up with the Falcons as they present a speed of play that most teams cannot match.
The Falcons' defensive unit is led by
Matt Kyne,
Carter Robbins,
Drew Frey, and
Josh Kremers—a group with 93 of a possible 96 starts between them.
Brandon West is also a standout in the goal, and carries a 0.55 goals against average (GAA) and a .760 save percentage across 24 starts.
Messiah's only loss this year came 1-0 at York College, and their only tie was 0-0 to Lycoming in the Commonwealth Championship.
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