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MESSIAH UNIVERSITY FIELD HOCKEY CAMP

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28

Oct, 2020

Season in Review: Field Hockey 2016

Historical Context

A little history here for the Messiah Field Hockey program. Going into the 2016 season, Messiah had 14 Final Four appearances from 1984-2010, along with seven National Championship Game appearances during a 15-year stretch from 1995-2010. But with no National Titles and eight National Runner-Up finishes to their name, the Falcons were eager to put to bed any narratives surrounding the team on not being able to win the Big Game.

Opening Game Setback

The Falcons dropped their home opener in a thriller on Anderson Turf in early September of 2016. They were edged by Division II foe Shippensburg 1-0 in overtime to fall to 0-1 to start the season. Little did the Falcons know this would be the only setback of the year, as their quest for a National Championship began to take shape.

Mid-Season Dominance

As eluded to earlier, Messiah would go on to win 16-straight games to ease into the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.

But these were no easy matchups. Of the 16 games, six came against nationally ranked opponents, yet no team could top the Falcons. They took care of No. 4 Ursinus (4-1), No. 7 Salisbury (3-2), No. 8 College of New Jersey 4-2, No. 6 Franklin and Marshall 3-2 (OT), No. 15 Alvernia 3-0, and No. 19 William Smith 4-1.

Messiah was able to handle all Conference teams en route to a 7-0 Conference record, and an overall 16-1 record to earn the top seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Throughout the season, Messiah showed their dominance on both the offensive and defensive ends, picking up convincing regular season shutouts over Haverford (7-0), Juniata (3-0), Stevenson (8-0), Widener (5-0), Lebanon Valley (4-0), Arcadia (9-0), Catholic (4-0), Alvernia (3-0), and Hood (12-0).

MAC Commonwealth Championship

The Falcons continued their dominance into Championship weekend, beating Lebanon Valley 4-0 in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal to move to the Title game against the Alvernia Golden Wolves. Messiah further cemented their standing in Division III field hockey with a convincing 7-1 win over nationally ranked #16 Alvernia.

This was the Falcons tenth-straight MAC Commonwealth Title and the 15th in the last 16 years. The win also punched their ticket to the NCAA National Tournament for the 16th straight time. But this season they were looking for more.

Familiar Territory

One weekend after claiming the MAC Commonwealth Championship, the Falcons were back on the grind for a National Title. After earning a bye in the First Round of the Tournament, Messiah was selected to host the Second and Third Rounds. The Falcons started strong in the Second Round with a convincing win over Keene State College by a score of 5-0. Messiah's Third Round opponent was the defending National Champion Middlebury Panthers. A tight battle between two National powers ensued, with the Falcons earning a spot in their 15th Final Four thanks to a 4-2 victory over Middlebury.

Their opponent for the National Semifinal was Babson College. Against the Beavers the score was knotted at two apiece heading into the half, but that tie did not hold for long. Messiah rattled off three unanswered goals in the second half to win the game 5-2 to move to the National Championship against the Tufts Jumbos.

National Title Game

Slated for Sunday, Nov. 20 at 1:00 p.m., the NCAA Division III Field Hockey National Title featured the number one seed Messiah College Falcons (21-1), and third seeded Tufts University Jumbos (19-2).

Soon to be an instant classic, freezing temperatures, wind, and snow greeted each team on the blustery Genvena, N.Y. afternoon. Despite heavy pressure from both sides, the game remained scoreless through all 70 minutes of regulation, not even another 30 minutes of overtime could decide a victor. It was on to penalty strokes.

With an opening stop by goalkeeper Shelby Landes, Carissa Gehman put the Falcons on the board with a goal to go up 1-0. Shayna Landis added to the lead with a goal, putting Messiah in the driver's seat up 2-0. After neither team could find the back of the cage in the third round, Tufts put one on the board to make it 2-1. That was the last score of the day as Shelby Landes made another save for Messiah and the Falcons earned the National Title with a 2-1 decision in penalty strokes.

"I'm very proud of this team and their effort, they really laid it all on the line," Messiah head coach Brooke Good said after the game. After six National Runner-Up finishes, two as a player and four as an assistant coach, it was finally good to get this chip off of her shoulder. "But this is really special, to be able to say we won the first National Championship, and that it came at the very last possible moment."

Messiah's historic campaign ended with a 22-1 record, with a perfect 22-0 mark against Division III opponents. As mentioned, their only loss of the season came against Shippensburg University, a Division II foe. That same Shippensburg team went on to win the NCAA Division II National Championship the same weekend that the Falcons claimed the Division III crown.

Four Falcons were named All-Tournament: Moriah Pfautz, Kristin Donohue, Nicole Wilkerson, and Carissa Gehman, with Gehman taking home Most Valuable Player honors.

Notable Quotes

"We always had the belief that we could do it, even after going scoreless," Good said. "I was proud that we weren't overly frantic. We were poised, and we were confident, and we knew we could capitalize on an opportunity," when speaking on the team's performance. "It just didn't happen until the shootout," Good reiterated.

MAC Commonwealth Honors

A total of nine Falcons were named to the three All-MAC Commonwealth teams, and head coach Brooke Good was awarded Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Messiah had five out of the 11 First Team honorees, including forwards Carissa Gehman and Moriah Pfautz, midfielders Lindsay Bower and Kristin Donohue, and defender Hannah Roland. Defender Sara Brooks and goalie Shelby Landes picked up Second Team honors, while forward Taylor Holt and midfielder Nicole Wilkerson were named Honorable Mention.

Messiah's nine players named is the most ever for the Falcons, breaking the record shared by the 2008 and 2009 squads which each had eight.

Notable Players

Carissa Gehman
   - MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year
   - First Team All-MAC Commonwealth
   - NFHCA South Atlantic Region Player of the Year
   - First Team NFHCA South Atlantic Region
   - First Team NFHCA All-American
    - Scored 28 goals with 5 assists in 23 games played

Moriah Pfautz
   - NFHCA First Team All-South Atlantic Region
   - First Team All-MAC Commonwealth
   - Selected to NFHCA Division III Senior Game
    - Scored 18 goals with 9 assists in 22 games played

Shayna Landis
   - Named Division III All-American First Team
   - Helped lead defense to earn a 0.67 goals against average, the 8th best in the country
   - Named MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of The Year
   - Named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth
   - Named First Team NFHCA All-Region

Shelby Landes
   - Named MAC Commonwealth Second Team
   - Played 1,110 minutes in goal this season
   - Recorded 18 saves, giving her 0.507 goals against average, ranking her sixth in the nation in that category