United Soccer Coaches All-American Teams
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The United Soccer Coaches Association released the 2017 NCAA Division III All-American teams last week, and Messiah men's and women's soccer were well-represented among the honorees. The Falcons' men's team received three All-American honors, and the women's team received two honors.
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The Messiah men finished atop the NCAA with the program's 11th Division III National Championship, earned with a 2-1 win over North Park. Their 24-2 record also tied for the most-ever wins in a single season.
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The Messiah women finished the season with a record of 17-2-4, and they advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 before falling 1-1 (2OT, 3-0 PK) to No. 1-ranked TCNJ. This marked the 13th-straight season reaching at least the Sweet 16, and 12th time in the past 13 seasons that Messiah has qualified for the Elite 8.
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The full teams are linked above, with a snapshot of each Messiah honoree below.
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Men's All-Americans
Kirby Robbins – Named First Team All-American for first time in career … led Messiah in points (37) and goals (15)… Robbins also tied
Nick West or second on the team with five game-winners, and three of his winners were tallied in the final 10 minutes of regulation or overtime … scored the second goal—Messiah's second equalizer at that point—in a 3-2 double-overtime win over Brandeis in the National Semifinal … last week Robbins was also named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region for the second-straight season ... earlier this season was named the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year.
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Dakota Rosenberg – Named Second Team All-American for first time in career … defensive leader has helped Messiah allow just 15 goals all season while registering a goals against average of 0.500 that is No. 10 in the nation … the Falcons' collected 16 team shutouts thus far, just the seventh time in program history they've reached the mark … last week Rosenberg was also named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region for the second-straight season ... earlier this season Rosenberg was named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year.
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Colby Thomas – Named Third Team for his first All-American honor … collected career-best marks in goals (9), assists (team-high 12), points (30), and game-winners (7)… his seven game-winners were No. 7 in the nation … tallied at least one point in 19 of 26 games in 2017 … earlier this season Thomas was also named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth.
Women's All-Americans
DJ Cole – Named First Team All-American for first time in career … after shifting to centerback Cole helped Messiah allow just four goals to opponents in 2017, with a nation-leading 0.166 goals against average that is second all-time in program history … Messiah also collected 19 shutouts for just the sixth time in history ... last week Cole was also named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region for the second-straight season … earlier this season Cole was also named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year.
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Brooke Firestone – Named All-American (Third Team) for the first time in her career … led Messiah in goals (10), assists (12), and points (32) in a breakout sophomore campaign … became the 20th player in program history to tally at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season, and just the 10th player in program history to do so with at least 12 assists … Firestone led the team with four game-winners ... last week Firestone was also named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region for the first time in her career.
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