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Messiah To Host NCAA Opening Rounds; Brackets Out

Grantham, PA — It will be a busy upcoming weekend on the Messiah College campus, as the NCAA released the national tournament brackets for men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey Monday — with Messiah serving as an opening-round host for each.

With each of the Falcons’ three fall sports teams earning automatic bids via conference championships, Messiah learned it will host second- and third-round contests in the sport of field hockey on Saturday and Sunday, while the school will host first- and second-round action in women’s soccer on those dates as well.

The Falcons’ men’s soccer team — with a first-round bye — will host a second-round contest Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

“To say the least, it’s an exciting time to be a part of Messiah College athletics,” said Cory Furman, assistant athletics director for public relations and marketing. “I’m fairly confident that we’re the only NCAA Division III school in the country hosting an opening weekend in these three sports. It’s both a privilege and an honor to be hosting such important events.”

Messiah’s field hockey team will kick things off at 11 a.m. Saturday on Anderson Field, as the Falcons will face the winner of the Eastern University (17-4) – Stevens Institute of Technology (17-3) game, slated to take place Wednesday afternoon at Stevens Tech.

Rowan University (14-4) will then take on the winner of the Lebanon Valley College (17-3) – Wittenberg University (12-5) match-up at 2 p.m. Saturday. The winners of those two games will then face off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for a ticket to the national semi-finals — taking place at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. the following weekend.

Messiah (19-0) makes its 23rd straight national tournament appearance on the heels of its 16th conference championship — coming in the form of a 2-1 win over Lebanon Valley College last Saturday.

The NCAA has already painted Messiah’s bracket with a multitude of possible storylines, as a Falcons’ win on Saturday could pit the team against Rowan — the same program Messiah knocked out by a 2-1 overtime score in last year’s memorable third-round contest.

Of course, there is also a possibility of a Messiah-Lebanon Valley tilt, which would mark the third meeting between those teams this season.

For Messiah head coach Jan Trapp, however, those potential storylines are just that — potential.

“We’re extremely happy to be in the tournament, and it’s an honor to have these games take place on our home field,” Trapp said. “We’ve got a tough first-round match-up, regardless of who we’ll be playing, so we’re focused on preparing for that game.”

Following Saturday’s early field hockey contests, attention will shift to Shoemaker Field in the evening, as Messiah’s women’s soccer team will take on Farmingdale State University (15-4-3) at 5 p.m. Messiah (19-0-1) makes its 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance coming off its third-straight Commonwealth Conference Championship — a feat the team secured with a 4-0 win over Arcadia University last Saturday.

Endicott College (17-4) faces off against SUNY Geneseo (14-4-2) in the other first-round contest at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night. The winner of that game then faces the winner of the Messiah-Farmingdale State contest at 6 p.m. Sunday evening.

Receiving one of the nation’s five first-round byes, Messiah’s men’s soccer team will host a single, second-round contest Sunday at 1 p.m., taking on the winner of the Ohio Northern University (15-3-3) – Brockport State University (10-5-3) tilt, which will take place Thursday at ONU.

Messiah (19-1) makes its 13th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and 21st overall, capturing the program’s sixth straight Commonwealth Conference title via a 4-1 win over Arcadia University last Saturday.

Tickets for all NCAA post-season events at Messiah are $6 for adults and $3 for both senior citizens and students with ID. Children ages six and up will also be admitted for $3, while children under the age of six will be admitted free of charge.

Fans can find direct links to opposing teams’ websites through the appropriate sport’s schedule page here at GoMessiah.com. WVMM will broadcast both women’s soccer games and the men’s game live on 90.7 FM and via streaming audio on the World Wide Web.