WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – A Messiah header flew above the crossbar with 10 seconds remaining and for the second time in three years, the Lycoming College men's soccer team rushed onto the field and celebrated a MAC Commonwealth Championship, beating defending champion Messiah, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.
 
The Warriors (16-1-2 overall) now wait for the NCAA Division III selection show on Monday, Nov. 9, at 1:30 p.m. to see where they are selected in the 62-team field. The team, ranked third in the last NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region poll, also tied the school record for wins in a season, tying the mark set by the 16-5 1994 team.
 
"It's really exciting," third-year head coach Nate Gibboney said. "I think we are all still just taking it all in at this point. It has been a great ride this year. The guys have earned this. They have earned the respect of the people around the country and to play in the NCAA Tournament next week."

Lycoming scored its golden goal in the 20^th minute, as junior Jordan Logan (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) sent a cross from the left baseline into the right corner, where MAC Commonwealth Tournament MVP freshman Sainclair Tueno (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) waited and kicked it into the right corner.

"We work on different set pieces," Gibboney said. "It started with a long throw-in from junior Dom Haynes (Mount Pocono, Pa./Pocono Mountain East). It got into the box, and Jordan flicked the ball voer a couple defenders and got it into the middle of the box, where it got into a scrum and it landed on Sainclair's foot. It was a great effort play. Sainclair was incredible on both ends of the field all day."

The Falcons (14-5-1 overall) started out the game by keeping the ball in Lycoming's attacking third for much of the opening minutes, as junior goalkeeper Josh Gildea (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) was forced to make three saves in the first 17 minutes.
 
The Warriors nearly got another goal in the 56^th minute, as sophomore Kyle Thomas (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) headed a shot high that Messiah keeper Connor Bell was able to corral.
 
The Falcons had several quality chances late in the game, pressuring with two shots and a corner, even hitting the crossbar in the 90^th minute, as Will Cochran took the ball out of a scrum and fired a shot high that hit the middle of the crossbar and came back into play.

"Our guys fought hard all day," Gibboney said. "We knew they would pressure after we got one in the first half. They sent a lot of guys forward and it was one of those times in a game, where, they were fighting and scrapping. Our guys ultimately were able to clear the ball two or three times and used any part of their body to get the ball out of danger."

Moments later, the Falcons earned a corner kick and the resulting header flew high, setting off the celebration for the more than 400 fans in attendance at the Shangraw Athletic Complex, as Lycoming won a conference championship on their home field for the first time.
 
Junior Josh Gildea (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) stopped five shots as he posted his third straight shutout and the team's 11^th of the year. Connor Bell notched three stops for the Falcons.
 
The Falcons, who are ranked seventh in the Mid-Atlantic Region, will now await the selection show to see if their string of 18 straight NCAA Tournaments is snapped.