Complete All-American Team
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Just days after Messiah men's soccer was awarded four All-Region honors by the United Soccer Coaches (USC), the Falcons collected more end of season accolades with the announcement of the All-American teams. Among the honorees were a trio of Messiah Falcons, with senior forward
Nick West named First Team and senior midfielder
Samuel Ruiz Plaza and freshman defender
Luke Groothoff earning Second Team nods.
All three All-American honors are the first of the careers for West, Ruiz Plaza, and Groothoff. With three Falcons collecting honors on Thursday evening, Messiah matches the 2007 and 2013 teams for the most Falcons featured on All-America teams in program history.
Luke Groothoff becomes the first Messiah freshman to earn All-American honors since Kai Kasiguran earned Second Team honors in his first season with the Falcons in 2004. Kasiguran is the only four-time All-American in Messiah men's soccer history.
Nick West capped his career with his first-ever All-American nod after a stellar senior season that saw the East Hampton, N.Y. native lead the country with 30 goals. West also added six assists and his 66 points are tied for the second most in a single season in Messiah history. The 30 tallies netted by West finished just one shy of the program record of 31 set 45 years ago by Adrian Oostdyke in 1973.
After being held scoreless in the season opener against SUNY Cortland, West rattled off 15-straight matches with at least one goal, tying the all-time Division III record for consecutive games with at least one goal. The stretch lasted more than seven weeks and featured a total of 24 tallies, including two hat tricks. West finished the season with a total of three hat tricks, making him the first Falcon since Jim Blouch in 1981 with three or more hat tricks in a single season.
Like West, midfielder
Samuel Ruiz Plaza also collected his first-career All-American honor this season. Ruiz Plaza earned a Second Team honor after patrolling the midfield and controlling possession for the Falcons all season long. On the season, Ruiz Plaza showed his scoring capacity at times, tallying four goals and adding an assist, but his impact on the match came in his ability to connect passes while managing the tempo and pace of the game for the Falcons.
Freshman
Luke Groothoff was named Second Team after anchored a Falcons' defensive line that allowed 15 goals on the season for a 0.65 goals against average. Groothoff stepped in and immediately made an impact for the Falcons. He was inserted into the starting line-up on opening day and never came out, starting in all 23 matches this season for the Falcons on a defensive line that fought injuries throughout the season. In addition to his defensive abilities, Groothoff made his mark offensively with five goals, including two tallies against Misericordia on Sept. 22.
As mentioned, this is the first time since 2013 that Messiah has received three All-Americans while also tying the most accolades in a single season in program history.
