KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On Monday afternoon the United Soccer Coaches announced their NCAA Division III All-Region Teams. Among the student-athletes honored were four Messiah women's soccer players on the Mid-Atlantic Region Team. Senior midfielder
Sunny Gelnovatch and senior forward
Brooke Firestone were named First Team, while sophomore midfielder
Kayla Herr and senior forward
Ellie Lengacher earned Second Team honors.
Firestone and Gelnovatch picked up their third-straight First Team honor on Monday, earning two of the 11 spots on the top team from the Mid-Atlantic Region. The nods are the first of their career for Herr and Lengacher.
Gelnovatch earns her third-straight honor after another stellar season in the midfield. The four-time First Team All-MAC Commonwealth honoree has scored six times and recorded eight assists this season. Her dominant, controlling presence in the midfield allowed Messiah to control possession for large stretches of games this season.
As mentioned,
Brooke Firestone also earned her third-straight First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region honor thanks to her ability to put the ball in the back of the net. The senior thus far has averaged a goal per game, tallying a team-high 19 goals throughout the season and adding five assists to help the Falcons to a 3.63 goals per game average so far this season.
Second Team honoree
Kayla Herr's consistent and steady presence in the midfield, as well as her ability to connect with teammates on passes was second to none this season. She has scored four times for Messiah this season en route to her first career All-Region award.
Ellie Lengacher earned her first All-Region award with a Second Team honor. Lengacher leads the Falcons with 16 assists and is also the second leading point scorer for Messiah with 11 goals of her own so far this season.
Messiah will next be in action Friday morning in Greensboro, N.C. for their NCAA Final Four matchup against Carnegie Mellon University. The Falcons are currently 21-1-2 and are making their 13th trip to the Final Four in program history.
