Kansas City, KS – Fresh off helping Messiah College to their 10th NCAA Division III Men's Soccer National Championship in program history senior
Joshua Wood was honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as the National Player of the Year.
Wood becomes the seventh player in program history to receive the award following Hayden Woodworth in 2002, David McClellan (2005), Kai Kasiguran (200), JD Binger (2008), Geoff Pezon (2010), and teammate
Jeremy Payne (2012).
Beginning with Woodworth's award in 2002, Messiah players have now earned seven of the past 12 national honors.
For Wood, the honor caps an incredible career with the Falcons—one that included not just success, but also tremendous challenge. Wood played just 11 games between the 2010 and 2011 seasons, missing the rest due to multiple surgeries for a broken clavicle, a sports hernia, and two different hip impingements.
"It took Josh halfway through last season (2012) to earn a starting spot and he was still not yet one-hundred percent," Messiah head coach
Brad McCarty said, reflecting on Wood's impressive recovery from multiple physical obstacles. "This was his first healthy season since his freshman year in 2009 and the sheer fact that he was able to play, be effective and dynamic, and score a ton of goals—that's amazing."
Wood led the Falcons in 2013 with 21 goals, and was also at the top with 49 points. His goals and points totals were good for seventh and sixth in the nation, respectively.
"To have the team we did, with Josh,
Jeremy Payne,
Jack Thompson,
Mike Kovach,
Brian Ramirez, and
Sheldon Myer all up front and all able to stand on their own offensively, it was a lot for teams to handle," McCarty said. "The key with Josh was having a target that can stretch the defense and keep the ball. It helped us in the territory battle and it's really important for us to have the ball and play in our opponent's end."
While many of Wood's points were the result of his extraordinary ability to play near an opponent's goal, perhaps none will be remembered longer than his
game-winning assist to Jeremy Payne in this year's National Final win over Rutgers-Camden.
"Josh is also not your typical Division III target," McCarty added, commenting on Wood's special combination of physical strength and athleticism. "He has the ability to post, receive, and hold the ball perhaps better than any other player we've ever had."
Wood's First Team All-American award is the first of his decorated career. He has been a
two-time All-Region and
three-time All-Commonwealth performer, and was also named the conference Rookie of the Year in 2009. This season, Wood also earned a
First Team Capital One Academic All-American honor following his
second-straight Academic All-District award.
Wood also joins former players Andy Rosamila '07 and Brett Faro '10 as the only Falcons to win four national titles in a single career.
"More than any other award, the Player of the Year award is a team award. There is a lot about this award that has to do with how the teams fares," McCarty said. "But you can't separate the two completely. Josh had an awesome year. He scored over twenty goals, collected a lot of points, and he was important to who we were both on and off the field. His career ended really well and he totally deserves the honor."
Wood will be honored for his National Player of the Year award at the NSCAA Convention next month.
