BUFFALO, N.Y.—Junior Samuel Ruiz Plaza scored with 40 seconds remaining in regulation to lift ninth-ranked Messiah College to a 1-0 victory over Hobart College in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship at Coyer Field tonight.
 
An evenly contested match, the Falcons (20-2-0) turned up the intensity and swung the momentum in their favor over the final 10 minutes of the match. Plaza hit a blistering shot through traffic from 16 yards out to send Messiah to the third round.
 
The Statesmen got one shot off in the waning seconds, but senior Hunter Critchlow's offering was handled by goalie Connor Bell.
 
Messiah finished the match with an 18-15 advantage in shots and took seven corner kicks to Hobart's four. Both Bell and Hobart junior goalie Alec Kaminer recorded five saves.
 
In the first half, Hobart put a couple of long strikes on frame early, but nothing too challenging for Bell. Messiah had the first real dangerous opportunity when Nick West got behind the Statesmen defense for a one-on-one with Kaminer. The keeper raced off his line and dove at West's feet. The Falcon fired a shot just wide right of the post.
 
In the 38th minute, Messiah generated a scramble inside the Hobart six, taking a shot that was cleared off the line by a Statesman defender.
 
A short time later, Hobart first-year August Martini took a free kick from 40 yards out and put it on frame, but Bell caught it just before it got to the goal line.
 
Kirby Robbins tested the Statesmen just a minute into the second half, lacing a shot at the lower left corner of the cage, but Kaminer made a diving stop.
 
In the 59th minute, Hobart got its best scoring chance of the night when senior Patrick Schulz headed a corner kick off the crossbar.
 
Robbins broke in for another golden opportunity in the 74th minute, but his shot was outside the right post.
 
In the 81st minute, Cooper Robbins hit a blistering shot at the lower right corner, but Kaminer made an exceptional diving save on the goal line to keep the match scoreless.
 
The Statesmen finished the season with an 11-5-4 overall record. Hobart's seven seniors—Adrian Colmenares, Hunter Critchlow, Nick Dosky, Joseph Escamilla, Zach Poretz, Morgan Sawyer and Patrick Schulz—compiled a four-year record of 45-18-13 (.676), winning two Liberty League regular season championships and the 2017 Liberty League Tournament Championship.