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GAMBIER, Ohio – Following their climactic weekend that resulted in wins through the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament, the Kenyon College Lords are shooting to rewrite program history in this weekend's continuation of the national tournament. The Lords will continue their run in Grantham, Pa. where they will meet the defending national champions, Messiah College, in the Sweet 16.
This year's squad continues to turn heads within Division III soccer with wins over No. 19 Ohio Northern University and No. 8 Wheaton College by scores of 2-0 and 2-1, respectively. The Lords are now the last remaining team from the North Coast Athletic Conference after Ohio Wesleyan University was upset by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 1-0, and Oberlin College was beaten by the University of Rochester (N.Y.), 3-0.
Four different goal scorers accounted for the success leading to the Lords' trip to the round of 16, affirming the way they have made a living throughout the course of the year by providing opponents with multiple scoring threats. Compliment this with how freshman goalkeeper Sam Clougher has played over his last five matches plus a stout defense led by Sam Justice and it makes sense as to how the Lords have advanced to this weekend's sectional semifinal match with Messiah.
Clougher allowed just one goal last weekend and that came by way of a bit of deception implemented by Wheaton late in Saturday evening's match. Otherwise, the All-NCAC second teamer was near-flawless and totaled 14 saves in the tournament, including one in the waning seconds against the Thunder. Justice, an All-NCAC first team selection, has made two defensive saves in the last three matches and scored Kenyon's first goal in their win over ONU.
The odds were against the Lords in each of this year's NCAA matches as their opponents held advantages in shots against (41-21) and corner kick (15-4) opportunities in each game. However, final scores are everything and that is where Kenyon can hang its hat heading into this Saturday's match with the Messiah Falcons.
As impressive as the final results have been, the adversity the team overcame heading into the tournament on the defensive side has been remarkable, as well. In the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship game against No. 1 Ohio Wesleyan, all-conference defenseman Luke Guju went down and was lost for the season with a leg injury. Since, the Lords have returned senior Andrew Parmelee and have combined his athletic ability with the versatility of fellow senior Lewis Williams-Gray to create a rotation system to fill the void at middleback. That system also includes one of the Lords more overlooked and consistent defenders and All-NCAC second team selection, Cameron Scott.
Messiah (20-1-1), on the other hand, has come into the national tournament with a vengeance after being upset in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals by then-No. 4 Lycoming College in penalty kicks. They took their frustrations out on Centenary College with a 9-1 romp in the first round, marking the most goals scored in a single match all season. They returned the following day and defeated No. 15 Salisbury University on its home field, 3-0. Joshua Wood scored three times to chalk up his 18th, 19th, and 20th goals of the season, ranking him eighth in the country in that category and seventh in total points (45). Falcon goalkeeper Brandon West ranks 10th in goals-against average (0.51) while Jack Thompson is 6th in assists per game (0.74).
The Falcons have rolled through a majority of the season by posting numbers that dwarf the competition in many areas. They outscore their opponents 3.50 goals per game to 0.55, outshoot the opposition 23.7 to 5.2 shots per contest, and hold a commanding lead in corner kick opportunities, 22-24-36. Messiah is led by fifth-year head coach Brad McCarty, who while with the team has built up a 108-4-4 overall recording heading into this weekend.
In their history, the Falcons have made 25 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and hold a 68-12-5 record in those games, including last weekend's wins. They are nine-time national champions and have won four of the last five NCAA titles. In sectional semifinal matches, the Falcons are 8-0 and in 35 NCAA Tournament matches hosted on their home field, Messiah is 27-7-1.
The Lords and Falcons have meet only one time in their histories and that came in 1996 when Kenyon defeated Messiah, 2-1, in Gambier. The match was played in the early stages of the regular season and came off the heels of a trip to the Sweet 16 the previous year for Messiah. It was also the final year for their legendary head coach, the late Dr. Layton Shoemaker, to patrol the sidelines. More importantly for Kenyon, that season marked the last time the Lords reached the round of 16 and signified the program's most successful season when they advanced all the way to the national championship match.
Currently, the 2013 Kenyon Lords are the third most successful team in program history. Aside from the 1996 national runner-up team, the 1993 team is the only other that contends after putting up an overall record of 16-1-4, winning the conference title, and claiming three match victories in the NCAA Tournament before bowing out.
The showdown between the Falcons and the Lords will be held at Shoemaker Field (Grantham, Pa.) on Saturday at 5 p.m EST. Live coverage will be provided exclusively by the Falcon Athletic Network (F.A.N.) including video, stats, and audio. For those traveling for the game, tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens, $2 for children ages 3-12, and is free to those ages two and under.
The winner of the Kenyon/Messiah match will play the winner of Franklin & Marshall College (16-3-2) versus Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (12-5-5) on Sunday at 5 p.m.
