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.
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.
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.
The full teams are linked above, with a snapshot of each Messiah honoree below.
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.
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.
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.
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.
