KANSAS CITY, Mo. – This week, the United Soccer Coaches announced their All-Region and All-American teams for the 2022 NCAA Division III women's soccer season. Among the honorees were a pair of Falcons named First Team All-American with
Kristina Akselsen and
Jenna Skurcenski picking up the honors. Both Akselsen and Skurcenski earned First Team All-Region honors alongside teammates
Kayla Herr and
Rachael Tirjan.
For Akselsen and Skurcenski, the All-American honors are the first of their careers. With the National honors, Messiah has now earned 42 All-American honors in program history with 28 of those nods being First Team. This marks the tenth time in program history that the Falcons have earned multiple First Team All-American honors in the same season.
Just weeks after being named the MAC Commonwealth defensive Player of the Year, Kristinia Akselsen earned her first career All-Region and All-American honors after a strong sophomore campaign for the Falcons. Akselsen has commanded the midfield throughout the season, starting every game for the Falcons. She has pushed forward as well, scoring three goals on the year. Her biggest goal came in a 1-1 draw against the Misericordia Cougars, who were at the top and undefeated and nationally-ranked squad.
A year ago,
Jenna Skurcenski earned Second Team All-Region honors. This season, she picked up First Team All-Region honors as well as her first career First Team All-American accolades on Messiah's defense. With Skurcenski anchoring the defense, Messiah has allowed just nine goals on the season and only two since the middle of October. Prior to the Elite Eight game against WashU, Messiah had a 10-match shutout streak going.
With defensive-minded Akselsen and Skurcenski, Messiah has held opponents to a 0.37 goals against average while tallying just 41 shots on goal in the entire season. As a whole, opponents have attempted just 105 shots, an average of just 4.38 per game. A testament to the stellar defensive and midfield play the Falcons have seen all season from Akselsen and Skurcenski.
Joining the duo on the All-Region First Team were teammates
Kayla Herr and
Rachael Tirjan. With a First Team All-Region honor,
Kayla Herr now has three regional nods in her career. Also commanding the midfield, Herr was a Second Team All-Region honoree in 2019 and picked up First Team honors in 2021. This season, Herr netted three goals and added three assists for nine total points.
On attack,
Rachael Tirjan has led the way for the Falcons. The MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year, Tirjan has scored 13 goals and added eight assists this season. Her First Team All-Region honor is the first accolade outside of the conference in her career. In 24 games so far this season, Tirjan has collected at least one point in 14 matches, including eight of the last 11.
The Falcons will take on Johns Hopkins in the National Semifinals on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in Salem, Va.
