The 2012 campaign came to a close for the Emory University men's soccer team on Sunday afternoon, as the Eagles suffered a 3-0 loss to top-ranked Messiah College in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships in Grantham, PA.

Despite the score, the Eagles' defense held strong throughout the game against a team that had been ranked among the top five teams Division III for the entirety of the 2012 campaign, and ranked first for the last four weeks.  Emory outshot Messiah 10-9 in the game, becoming the first squad to outshoot the Falcons since Ohio Wesleyan did so on September 9, 2011 (18-10), and the first team to hold Messiah to under 10 shots since Calvin on December 5, 2009 (nine shots).  Both Emory and Messiah finished the contest with four shots on goal.

Emory's ended the year with an 11-7-2 overall record, finishing the season strong with a mark of 9-3-1 in its last 13 games of the season, and winning its seventh University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship.

Facing a top-ranked team for the first time in the program's history, the Eagles fell into an early hole when Messiah's Jack Thompson scored his 10^th goal of the season at the 8:42 mark, sending a low shot into the right corner of the goal to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

Trailing by a goal, Emory had its best opportunity of the first half on a counterattack, with junior Andrew Jones breaking down the far side of the field and getting behind his defender to set up a one-on-one with the keeper in the 18^th minute.  However, his shot went just off the keepers hands, deflecting wide of the net.  Messiah extended its lead to 2-0 in the 24^th minute on another long shot, this time by Jeremy Payne, as the team's leading scorer notched his 15^th of the year from the left side of the field.

Despite the score after the first half, Emory's defense tightened up after the second goal, allowing the Falcons to take just four shots during the first 45 minutes of play.  Emory managed three first half shots, including one on goal.

The Falcons applied pressure again early in the second half, and built their lead to 3-0 at the 48:45 mark, when Payne sent a leading pass to Joshua Wood as he cut into the 18-yard box.  Wood was able to take advantage, shooting past goalkeeper Abe Hannigan for his 10^th goal of the year.

Emory secured some late momentum, with some of the team's best chances coming late.  In the 72^nd minute, a long throw in from sophomore Jeffrey Cochran was punched off frame by the Falcons' keeper, but directly to senior co-captain Andrew Natalino, who followed with a header that went just over the crossbar.  On a free kick by freshman Matt Sherr from midfield just over two minutes later, Natalino would get another shot on goal, but the save was made again.  However, the Eagles would not find the back of the net, as the team was shutout for just the third time this season.

Messiah, now 20-0-1 in 2012, will advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA Division III Championships, where they will face the winner of Sunday's contest between York (Pa.) and Rutgers-Camden.

Emory Notes
Emory outshot its opponents in all but one of the team's 20 games during the year… The Eagles took at least 10 shots in every game this season, and in its last 29 games, dating back to last season… Opponents averaged just 3.3 shots on goal per game against Emory over the team's last 13 games… Sunday's game was the final collegiate contest of Natalino's career, as the senior finished his time at Emory tied for 11^th in school history with 32 goals, and 15^th with 75 points… Emory seniors David Garofalo, David Langton, Alex Wong, Nick Jones, Alex Scott and Alistair Moore all saw their last games as Eagles as well on Sunday.