Women's Soccer Set for NCAA Division III Championship First Round Tilt with Messiah College

The Matchup: Elms College Blazers (10-5-4) at Messiah College Falcons (17-0-1)
Date: Saturday, November 12
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Site: Shoemaker Field (Grantham, Pa.)
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Game Notes

All-Time Series: Saturday's NCAA Division III Championship First Round contest between Elms and Messiah marks the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Setting The Scene: The Blazers are making their first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship. Messiah, a three-time national champion, is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA postseason tournament.

Scouting The Blazers: In the highly anticipated New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tournament championship contest between No. 1 Lesley University and No. 3 Elms, the sides played scoreless soccer through the first 41 minutes of the contest with Lesley owning a slim 6-4 advantage in shots. Sophomore midfielder Gianna Gorneault (Springfield, Mass.) fired a shot that was saved but not controlled by the Lynx goalkeeper and sophomore midfielder Victoria Cebula (Granby, Mass.) tucked the rebound inside the right post at the 41:28 mark to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Lesley outshot Elms, 8-2 but Blazers' senior goalkeeper Kelly Callahan (Monson, Mass.) was able to turn away all three shots on goal and secure the victory for Elms.

The win was the 10th of the season for the Blazers and marks the first time since 2008 that Elms has notched 10 wins in a season. The program record for wins is 14 which was set in 2006. Saturday's loss marked the first for the Lynx in 12 games, and just the third time during the 2011 season that Lesley was shutout of a game. The loss was also the Lynx second straight in the NECC Championship final (lost to Mitchell College, 2-1 in 2010).

Scouting The Falcons: Messiah (17-0-1), ranked first nationally in the latest D3soccer.com poll, secured its fifth consecutive MAC Commonwealth Conference championship following a 5-1 victory over Lebanon Valley College last Saturday. The Falcons are making their 12th appearance in the NCAA postseason tournament and have competed in the national title game in each of the last four seasons, winning in 2008 and 2009.

The Falcons have posted an impressive 246-13-11 record under 12th-year head coach Scott Frey that includes three national championships and three runner-up finishes dating back to the 2002 season. Since taking over the program in 2000, Messiah has posted 16 or more wins each season, including a program-best 25 wins in 2009 that resulted in the team's most recent national championship win. In 2011 the Falcons have allowed just one first half goal and just three total goals for the entire season. Messiah's most recent loss was a 2-1 decision to Hardin-Simmons University in the 2010 national title game in San Antonio, Texas, snapping a 43-game win streak that dated back to Sept. 19, 2009. The Falcons' lone non-win of the 2011 season was a 0-0 tie with William Smith College on Sept. 10 in Geneva, N.Y.

A Look At What's Next: Skidmore College (13-6) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (14-3-3) are the other two teams in the Messiah pod and will square off against each other on Nov. 12 at Shoemaker Field at 1:30 p.m. The winners will then meet on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1:00 p.m. at Shoemaker Field.

Keeping Track Of Blazers' Athletics: For the latest news, notes and statistics visit athletics.elms.edu or call the office of sports information at (413) 265-2440. Fans can now follow the Blazers on Facebook and on live stats!