ANNEVILLE, Pa. - On Wednesday morning, the Middle Atlantic Conference announced their end of season awards and All-Conference Teams for women's soccer. Messiah had nine student-athletes named All-MAC Commonwealth with
Brooke Firestone highlighting the Messiah honors as the Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. In addition to the nine Falcons honored on the field, head coach
Scott Frey earned his sixth MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year Award.
In addition to her Offensive Player of the Year honor, Firestone was named First Team All-Conference for the third time in her career. Joining Firestone with First Team honors are teammates
Ellie Lengacher,
Sunny Gelnovatch,
Kayla Herr,
Emily D'Amico, and
Barb Foster. A trio of Falcons earned Second Team accolades with
Maddie Kohl,
Abby Monko, and
Lydia Ewing receiving laurels this season.
With her second-straight Offensive Player of the Year honor in the conference, Firestone becomes the fifth Falcon to ever win multiple Player of the Year honors, joining
Amanda Naeher ('08 and '10),
Nikki Elsaesser ('13, '14, and '15),
Macauley Soto ('14 and '15), and
DJ Cole ('16, '17, and '18).
Firestone earned the honor after anchoring an offense that has been one of the best in the country this season. Despite missing two games early in the year, Firestone tallied 18 goals in the regular season. In the 16 games she appeared this season, Firestone was held scoreless just five times, netting two goals in a game on seven different occasions. In her career, Firestone now has netted 50 goals, placing her eighth on the all-time scoring list in program history.
The offense was more than just Firestone this season, Messiah had 13 different Falcons find the back of the net. Among that large group of scorers,
Ellie Lengacher was second on the team with nine tallies this season while dishing out 12 assists. Her dozen assists in the regular season is the ninth most in the country and tops in the conference. Lengacher's First Team honor is the first All-Conference accolade of her career.
Messiah had three midfielders earn All-MAC Commonwealth honors with
Sunny Gelnovatch and
Kayla Herr named First Team and
Maddie Kohl picked to the Second Team. Senior Gelnovatch is no stranger to the Conference's First Team, picking up her fourth-straight First Team honors after scoring four goals and handing out six assists this season.
Maddie Kohl was a consistent offensive threat for the Falcons as well, with six goals and eight assists. Last season Kohl was also named to the Second Team.
From her defensive midfield position,
Kayla Herr was a calming presence for Messiah. The sophomore was named to the First Team after starting all 18 games during the regular season. She tallied four goals and earned one assist, but her biggest impact for Messiah came by winning and holding possession in the midfield.
Like the midfield, Messiah had three defenders honored on the All-Conference teams this season.
Barb Foster,
Emily D'Amico, and
Abby Monko helped control opponents' attack, as the Falcons' defense allowed just six goals all season. Messiah's 0.329 goals against average this season is the eighth-best mark in the country.
Barb Foster picked-up her third-straight First Team honor while
Emily D'Amico claimed her first-career All-Conference accolade, being named First Team. After missing all of last year,
Abby Monko picked up right where she left off, earning her second-career Second Team honor.
Between the pipes
Lydia Ewing was named Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth. Ewing's numbers are among the top keepers in the country. Her goals against average of 0.323 is 10th in Division III while her 0.904 save percentage is eight in the country and tops in the conference. Her All-Conference honor is the second of her career after she was named First Team and Rookie of the Year after the 2017 season.
The leader of the Falcons,
Scott Frey was named the Conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career after navigating the Falcons to an overall record of 16-1-1 in the regular season and a 7-0-1 mark in conference play. Frey started the season by winning his 400th career game in the season opener against Grove City, becoming just the 16th NCAA soccer coach to reach the 400-win milestone. Frey previously won MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year in 2000, '07, '13, '15, and '18.
Messiah clinched the top seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament that takes place this week. The Falcons host the fourth-seeded Albright Lions on Thursday night in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals. Messiah has won 16 of the last 19 Conference Championships.
