Messiah is holding steady at No. 1 in the latest NSCAA rankings. With a spotless, 7-0-0 record thus far, the Falcons will attempt to maintain that momentum heading to a week that includes two ranked matchups.
Saturday, the Falcons fended off Catholic University 2-1. Messiah received goals from Joshua Wood and Jeremy Payne before the Cardinals came back with a goal of their own. Messiah led in shots over the Cardinals 9-6 and collected five offside calls compared to the Cardinals' zero. Brandon West was forced to make two saves while his opposition, Torsten Meuschke, had to make seven.
On Tuesday, the Falcons followed up with another win, this time 3-1 vs. No. 9 Dickinson. For the Falcons, it moved their all-time record against the Red Devils to 33-0-0 -- a streak that dates back to 1977. The win also marks the fifth-consecutive season that Messiah has given Dickinson their first loss of the season.
Messiah will now take on No. 10 Montclair State on Sunday and No. 23 York (Pa.) on Tuesday to round out a trio of ranked battles on its slate.
Rutgers-Camden started during the 1958 season, but never in its previous 55-year history did the team accomplish the landslide of accolades that the 2013 squad accomplished Wednesday night.
With a 1-0 win against Manhattanville at Rutgers-Camden Community Park, the Scarlet Raptors established new program standards for their best start in history, their longest winning streak and their longest two-year unbeaten string.
The Scarlet Raptors, who are tabbed No. 6 in the NSCAA Division III poll, raised their record to 8-0, marking the first time they have ever been perfect through the first eight games of the season. The previous standard of 7-0-1 was set in 2008.
The eight-game winning streak also is a new standard, passing the seven the current team had shared with clubs from 1983, 1986, 1988 and 2008. The win also allowed the Raptors to stretch their unbeaten string to 20 (17-0-3) during the past two seasons, breaking the tie at 19 the team had shared with the clubs in 2003 (winning their last two games) and 2004 (opening the season with a 13-0-4 start).
The Scarlet Raptors will look to build on these exciting notables as they take on Rutgers-Newark on Saturday and Rowan next Wednesday.
| DATE/TIME (ET) | MATCHUPS |
|---|---|
| Thursday, Sept. 19 | |
| 6 p.m. | No. 4 Loras vs. Carthage |
| Saturday, Sept. 21 | |
| Noon | No. 3 Amherst vs. Williams |
| Noon | No. 5 Stevens Institute vs. Houghton |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 9 Ohio Northern vs. Thomas More |
| 5:30 p.m. | No. 7 Pacific Lutheran vs. George Fox |
| 7 p.m. | No. 1 Messiah vs. No. 10 Montclair State |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 6 Rutgers-Camden vs. Rutgers-Newark |
| 8:30 p.m. | No. 2 Ohio Wesleyan vs. Baldwin Wallace |
| Sunday, Sept. 22 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | No. 7 Pacific Lutheran vs. Pacific (Ore.) |
| Tuesday, Sept. 24 | |
| 4 p.m. | No. 1 Messiah vs. No. 23 York (Pa.) |
| 5 p.m. | No. 9 Ohio Northern vs. Defiance |
| 8 p.m. | No. 4 Loras vs. Wheaton |
| Wednesday, Sept. 25 | |
| 6 p.m. | No. 2 Ohio Wesleyan vs. Hanover |
| 7 p.m. | No. 6 Rutgers-Camden vs. Rowan |
| 7 p.m. | No. 10 Montclair State vs. William Paterson |
| 8 p.m. | No. 8 Hope vs. Albion |
