Championship Central Page

GRANTHAM, Pa. (Men’s Soccer) – The Commonwealth Conference top-seeded Messiah Falcons and second-seeded Lycoming Warriors both punched their tickets to the conference championship match on Thursday. The Falcons will host the Warriors on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the conference title and an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Lycoming (15-2-3) is the defending Commonwealth Conference Champion, but Messiah (18-0-1) has won 11 of the previous 14 conference titles, including six-straight from 2007-12.

In the regular-season meeting, Messiah defeated Lycoming by a score of 3-0 on Oct. 8 in Grantham.

Messiah shut out Alvernia (11-8-2) by a score of 3-0 on Thursday to punch its ticket to the conference final on Saturday. The Falcons scored their first goal in the ninth minute when Bryant Myer found Mike Kovach for the goal.

In the 23rd minute, Messiah’s Matt Kyne recorded a goal on a pass from Brian Ramirez. The Falcons extended their lead to 3-0 in the 59th minute when Colby Thomas netted his first postseason goal on a pass from Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year Jeremy Payne and Jacob Bender.

Lycoming needed overtime to defeat third-seeded Arcadia (9-7-2) on Thursday afternoon in Williamsport. It was freshman Jordan Logan’s golden goal in the 94th minute that clinched the Warriors spot in the Commonwealth Conference championship game.

The Warriors scored in the fifth minute of regulation when Commonwealth Rookie of the Year Abdullahi Abdi found Duc Momo on a breakaway.

Seconds before the first-half ended, the Knights found an equalizer off the foot of Daulton Rutter.

Momo found his second goal of the match in the 62nd minute to give Lycoming a 2-1 lead, but Arcadia tied the match in the 73rd minute and to eventually force overtime.

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