Complete All-American Team
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Just three days after announcing the 2018 All-Region teams, the United Soccer Coaches (USC) announced this year's NCAA Division III women's soccer All-America teams. Among the honorees were three Falcons with senior defender
DJ Cole and senior goalkeeper
Sara Yunez earning First Team honors while junior forward
Brooke Firestone Second Team honors.
For
DJ Cole and
Brooke Firestone, the All-American accolades are the second in as many years. Cole repeats on the First Team for the second-straight season while Firestone moved from Third Team in 2017 to the Second Team this season.
The First Team All-American honor for
Sara Yunez marks the first time in Messiah women's soccer history that a Falcons' keeper was named All-America.
With three All-American honors, the Falcons match the 2011 team for the most individuals honored in a single season in program history. Messiah was one of three teams with multiple student-athletes honored on the First Team, joining Trinity (Texas) and Washington University (Mo.).
As mentioned, Cole earns her second-straight First Team All-American honor after anchoring a Messiah defensive line that was one of the best in the country this season. Messiah allowed just five goals this season for a 0.221 goals against average, the best mark in the country. Cole started all 22 games on the defensive line this season and made a total of 66 starts in her career.
Cole joins an elite class of Falcons to have earned multiple First Team All-American nods, joining Hannah Levesque, Stef Rowe, Amanda Naeher (x3), Alex Brandt (x3), and
Nikki Elsaesser with at least two First Team honors.
Sara Yunez's selection to the All-American team marks the first national accolade for a goalkeeper in Messiah women's soccer history. Between the pipes,
Sara Yunez logged more than 1,400 minutes making 25 saves while allowing just the five goals on the year. She held a 17-1-2 record on the season while completing seven shutouts with a 0.833 save percentage.
For the second-straight season,
Brooke Firestone was included in the end of season accolades by the USC. Last season she was named Third Team All-American, but after a 20-goal, 47-point 2018 campaign, she was bumped up to a Second Team honoree. Her 20 tallies and 47 points were both team highs as she paced the Falcons offense that averaged 3.50 goals per game. Firestone connected for at least one goal in 14 of Messiah's 22 games.
Messiah has earned exactly two All-Americans in 14 of the previous 15 seasons. The lone exception came in 2011 when Alex Brandt, Kelsey Gorman, and Corinne Wulf. This year's class of three All-Americans matches the 2011 team for the most in a single season in program history.
