ANNEVILLE, Pa. - On the off day between the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals and Final, the Middle Atlantic Conference announced their end of season awards and All-Conference teams.
Nick West led nine Falcons named to All-MAC Commonwealth teams as the Offensive Player of the Year. In addition to the nine honorees on the All-Conference teams,
Brad McCarty was named Coach of the Year for the third-straight season and fifth time in his career.
Joining West on the First Team were midfielders
Justin Brautigam and
Samuel Ruiz Plaza as well as defender
Cooper Robbins. Messiah had four representatives on the Second Team as well with forward
David Alejos and three key members from the Falcons' defensive unit,
Luke Groothoff,
Shay Quintin, and keeper
Connor Bell. Junior
Jonathan Groothoff earned an honorable mention nod for his play in the midfield.
After earning an Honorable Mention (2016), Second Team (2015), and First Team (2017) during his first three seasons,
Nick West's First Team honor in 2018 is the fourth All-MAC Commonwealth nod of his career. His Offensive Player of the Year honor is the first such honor of his career and comes in the midst of the East Hampton, N.Y. native's most successful season. West scored in 15-straight matches from Sept. 1 through Oct. 20, tying the all-time NCAA Division III record for consecutive games with at least one goal. So far this season, West has paced the Falcons' offense with 24 goals and four assists for 52 total points, currently placing him in a tie for the sixth most points in a single season in program history. His 24 goals are the most in a single season for a Falcon since Dave McClellan scored 25 during the 2004 season.
Fellow forward
David Alejos also earned All-Conference honors with a Second Team nod this season. The award is the third Second Team honor that Alejos has picked-up in his career (2015 and 2017). Alejos has collected three goals and six assists on the year. The only other forward be be honored is Messiah's primary assist-man,
Jonathan Groothoff. The junior has dished out a team-high nine assists on the season, placing him second in the conference. In addition to his helpers, Groothoff has one goal this season.
Offensive-minded midfielder
Justin Brautigam earned his first career All-Conference honor with a First Team accolade this season. Brautigam is tied for second on the team with five goals this season. He has also added a pair of assists while patrolling the midfield for the possession heavy Falcons.
As a team, Messiah was the 10th-highest scoring offense in the country during the regular season, averaging 3.29 goals per game.
Samuel Ruiz Plaza has controlled the midfield for the Falcons, facilitating the offense and holding possession all season long. For his efforts, he was awarded First Team honors after being named Second Team last season. On the season, Ruiz Plaza has pushed forward at times, tallying three goals and adding an assist, but he has made his mark on games by managing the tempo and pace in the middle portion of the field for Messiah.
Messiah's defensive line had a strong showing in the end of season awards, with three defenders and starting goalkeeper, Conner Bell, earning First or Second Team honors.
Cooper Robbins highlighted the effort with his first, First Team nod after being named Second Team in each of his first two seasons in Grantham.
Luke Groothoff and
Shay Quintin were both named Second Team along with keeper
Connor Bell. As a unit this season, Messiah's defense has allowed just 11 goals on the season for a 0.61 goals against average, the 24th best mark in the country.
In their last five matches, the defense has logged five-straight shutouts and has a total of 10 shutouts in 18 matches this season. Between the pipes, Bell has logged 1552 minutes and made 47 saves with a 0.839 save percentage.
In his 10th season leading the Falcons,
Brad McCarty claimed his third-straight, and fifth-overall, MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year award in 2018 after directing Messiah to a 15-0-2 overall record in the regular season and a perfect 8-0-0 mark in the conference. McCarty owns an overall record of 205-13-11 during his decade in charge of Messiah, good for an astounding 0.919 wining percentage.
The Falcons earned a 1-0 victory over the Stevenson Mustangs in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal on Thursday night and will be back in action on Saturday evening when they host the Lycoming Warriors in the MAC Commonwealth Championship Match. That Championship Match is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Shoemaker Field. The Falcons are looking to win their 17th Conference Title in program history and 14th in the last 19 seasons.
