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Louisville, KY … The College of New Jersey will play in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Final Four for the 23^rd time in program history when play begins later today. The Lions will face off against defending National Champions and currently top-ranked Messiah College. The Falcons are making their 16^th National Semi-Final appearance.
 
The Lions (17-3) advanced to today's game thanks to incredible clutch play. Following a first round bye, TCNJ matched up with SUNY Cortland in round two. With the game tied in the final minute Cayla Andrews (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) punched in a feed from Sidney Padilla (Suffern, NY/Suffern) for the game winner with just 45.8 seconds remaining. The Lions defeated Centre College 2-0 to advance to Louisville. The Falcons (21-0) defeated Washington & Lee University 3-2 in the second round before topping Trinity College 5-0 to punch their ticket to Kentucky.
 
TCNJ VS. MESSIAH
 
This game features the two most decorated programs in Division III Field Hockey. TCNJ and Messiah are first and second in career tournament wins with 78 and 53 respectively. The Lions hold a 14-13 advantage in the all-time series and 5-3 advantage in the NCAA Tournament, however the Falcons have captured the last two including a 2-1 win earlier this season.
 
OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
 
The Lions boast the nation's ninth best scoring offense (3.75 goals per game), but will be going against the top defense in the country in the Falcons (0.62 goals against average). The Falcons offense ranks fourth in the country (4.33 goals per game), while the Lions defense ranks 13^th (0.95 goals against average)
 
TCNJ boasts the NJAC goalie of the year Christina Fabiano (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills). Fabiano ranks 10^th in the country with a .827 save percentage. Fabiano has recorded six individual shutouts and eight total clean sheets. Fabiano is not alone in the back end. Padilla leads the squad with five defensive saves. Jackie Schwartz (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) and Issy Gilhooley (Ocean City, NJ/ Ocean City) round out the back line.
 
The Lions bring a balanced offensive attack into the game. NJAC Rookie of the Year Tori Tiefenthaler (Freehold, NJ/Biotechnology/Freehold Borough) leads the team with 18 goals as a freshman, scoring a pair of goals in each of the season's first three games, a first for a Lions rookie. NJAC Offensive Player of the Year Elizabeth Morrison (Stonington, CT/Stonington) leads the team with 41 points on 16 goals and nine assists. Andrews, Padilla, Kayla Peterson (Cream Ridge, NJ/Allentown), and Taylor Barrett (Neshanic Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) round out the double-digit point scorers.
 
The Falcons boast seven players with double-digit points, headlined by Carissa Gehman. Gehman has scored 31 goals and added 11 assists this season. Kristin Donohue leads Messiah with 15 assists.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 
TCNJ is 16-0 this season when scoring two or more goals. The Falcons have surrendered two or more just twice this season. Neither offense has been shut out this year.
 
All three of the Lions defeats have come by identical 2-1 scores, with two of the losses coming in overtime.
 
The Falcons are the 34^th team to enter the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament undefeated. Only 11 of the prior 33 went on to win the national title.