Women's soccer makes history

Messiah College women’s soccer capped off another historic season with an appearance in the 2015 NCAA Division III Final Four. The Falcons were ousted in a penalty kick decision by Washington University, a decision that ended their season at 22-0-3.

The 22-0-3 mark was identical to their finish in 2014 and, despite falling short of their bid for the program’s sixth National Championship since 2005, the Falcons haven’t lost a game since before Thanksgiving of 2013.

Since that loss, a 1-0 defeat in overtime to Ithaca in the NCAA Sectional Semifinal, the Falcons have gone 44-0-6. Fifty games, 44 wins, and six draws. No losses.

It’s worth noting that this has been done before. The program went undefeated in back-to-back seasons in 2008 and 2009 with a combined record of 49-0-3, earning back-to-back National Championships.

Although the past two years haven’t produced any championship hardware, the recent accomplishments by the program and the individual players are evident. The team won the MAC Commonwealth Championship for the 14th time in 16 seasons, and the Final Four appearance was their 11th since 2002.

Audra Larson ’16 set the career shutout record for NCAA men’s and women’s soccer across all divisions. She finished her career shutout total of 68—nine more than any other player in NCAA history.

Nikki Elsaesser ’16 became just the second player for Messiah to reach at least 30 goals in a single season, and she set a program record with 77 total points. She also became the 52nd player in NCAA Division III history to reach 40 goals and 40 assists in a single career. She was named NSCAA National Player of the Year.

They were just two of eight seniors to finish their careers this season. They completed a four-year mark of 88-4-7 (.924) with three conference titles, two trips to the Final Four and a National Championship in 2012.

— Steve King ’06, associate athletics director