Fresh off a dominating victory against Roanoke College in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships, Emory University will travel to Grantham, Pennsylvania to face the top-ranked team in the country, Messiah College, in the second round of the tournament. The game is slated for a 12:00 PM start on Sunday, November 11th.
Venue Information
Sunday's second round game will be played at Shoemaker Field on the campus of Messiah College. Ticket prices will be $6 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens, and $2 for children ages 3-12. Children three and under will be admitted for free.
Coverage
For those fans unable to attend Sunday's game, there will be live stats (http://www.sidearmstats.com/messiah/msoc/xlive.htm), video (http://gomessiah.com/showcase/), and audio (http://mediagd2.rnltech.com/wvmm.asx) to follow along from home.
Emory Eagles
Emory is 11-6-2 overall in 2012, including a 6-4-0 record in all games away from home, and has gone 9-2-1 over its last 12 games. The Eagles opened tournament play on Thursday, with a dominating 4-1 at Ronaoke College, behind a two-goal, one assist performance from senior co-captain Andrew Natalino. Emory was one of four teams to share the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship this season, giving the program its seventh conference title. The Eagles were ranked ninth in the latest NSCAA South Atlantic Region poll, and were selected as an at-large team to the NCAA Championships.
Natalino, an all-UAA first team selection, has scored 14 goals and 31 points this season, to lead the Eagles' offensive attack, which has averaged 2.37 goals per game this season, and began the week ranked 70th among Division III teams. Sophomore Dylan Price has added 12 goals and 27 points, including a team-best six game-winning goals, and junior Andrew Jones has contributed with four goals and five assists. Senior defender and co-captain David Garofalo leads all Eagles with six assists this season.
While Emory's offense has produced solid results this season, as of late, it has been the Eagles' defense that has guided the team to victory, including back-to-back shutouts to end the regular season. Emory has outshot its opponents in all but one game this season, and held opposing teams to 10 or fewer shots in 11 contests. Over the team's last 12 games, Emory has allowed an average of just 3.25 shots on goal per game. The starting backline of Garofalo, senior Alex Scott, sophomore Noah Rosen and freshman Matt Sherr, and freshman goalkeeper Abe Hannigan (9-3-1, 1.17 GAA, .652 save percentage, three shutouts), have all helped contribute to a team 1.25 goals against average and six shutouts this season.
Emory head coach Sonny Travis is making his fourth NCAA Championship appearance in six seasons with Emory. He has gone 79-26-7 with the Eagles, winning a pair of UAA Championships. Travis' career 373-118-44 record ranks him 14th among active Division III coaches in victories, and his .738 winning percentage is the 10th-best among active D-III coaches. Travis will be joined by fourth-year assistant Ben Buerger, second-year goalkeeper coach Clayton Schmitt, and student assistant Dehmeh Smith.
Messiah Falcons
Messiah has been one of the most successful NCAA Division III men's soccer programs, winning eight National Championships, including six in seven years from 2004-2010. This season, Messiah has accumulated a 19-0-1 record, and is ranked first in both the NSCAA and D3Soccer.com national polls, receiving 21 of the 25 first place votes in the latter. The Falcons have played to a 12-0-1 record at home this season, and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships by virtue of winning the Commonwealth Championship game 1-0 over Lebanon Valley College.
Messiah is currently ranked as one of the top offensive and defensive teams in Division III. The squad has averaged 3.35 goals per game this season, which began the week as the fourth-highest mark in the country. The team's leading scorer has been sophomore Jeremy Payne, who has registered 14 goals and six assists for 34 points. Sophomore Jack Thompson (nine goals and 10 assists), junior Joshua Wood (nine goals and seven assists), and sophomore Mike Kovach (eight goals and five assists) have all been key contributors as well. Messiah has scored 67 goals this season, and averages 24 shots and 10.1 shots on goal per game.
Messiah has excelled defensively as well, and currently ranks second in Division III with a 0.29 goals-against average and fourth with a 0.7 shutout percentage. Falcons' sophomore goalkeeper Brandon West has started all 20 games this season, ranking third in Division III with a 0.226 GAA and sixth with a 0.892 save percentage. Messiah's defense has allowed just six goals this season, while limiting opposing squads to averages of 5.75 shots and 2.3 shots on goal per game.
The Falcons are coached by Brad McCarthy, who has gone 84-3-2 during his four seasons with the team, including NCAA Championship campaigns in 2009 and 2010, and a National Coach of the Year honor in 2009. McCarthy is assisted by Aaron Faro, Aaron Schwartz, Sam Woodworth, Trevor Lee, and student assistant Eric Bull.
Matchup History
Sunday's game will be the first ever meeting between Emory and Messiah.
Emory Notes
Andrew Natalino and Dylan Price have combined for 58 points, the most by an Eagles duo since Patrick Carver and Patrick McFarland combined for 77 points in 2007… Natalino's 14 goals are the most by an Emory player since Carver scored 16 during the same 2007 season… Natalino is second in school history with two NCAA Tournament goals over his career, and is one short of equaling Scott Cahoon's program record… Cahoon scored all three of his NCAA Tournament goals during the 1988 Championships.