GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's soccer team will begin their 2022 campaign with a trip to Lexington, Va. on Sept. 1 where they will take on Washington and Lee University in a rematch of their 2021 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight matchup.
See below for a quick preview of the 2022 season:
Last Season
As previously mentioned, Messiah's 2021 season ended in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament when it fell to Washington and Lee by a score of 3-1. The 2021 season marked the 31st time in program history that the squad was selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
Messiah picked up three NCAA Division III All-American nods following the conclusion of the season, with
Jake Lent-Koop,
Luke Brautigam, and
Trevor Goodling honored with First, Second, and Third Team honors, respectively.
Additionally, The Falcons picked up numerous All-Region and All-MAC Commonwealth Conference awards to cap off a successful year.
Roster
Seven All-MAC Commonwealth honorees return to the Falcons this season with fifth-years
Luke Groothoff,
Luke Brautigam and
Jared Pavlovich, seniors
Matt McDonald,
Jake Lent-Koop, and
Ben Lefever, and junior
Jarec Morlote coming back to lead a Messiah squad seeking its 32nd NCAA Tournament berth.
Trevor Swartz and
Darryl Daniels round out the returning fifth years for the Falcons. Accompanying them are seniors
Chad Vrolijk,
Zackary Venus,
Cole Cristian, and Drew Steif.
Juniors
Isaac Owen,
Josh Bratager,
Caleb Aldridge, and
Ben Vollmer complete a stout group of upperclassmen for the Falcons.
Luke Foster,
Stefan Leitzel,
Dylan Englehart, and
Adam Carter make up the sophomores, while freshmen
Davis Pagett,
Jordan Gilman,
Harrison Keator,
Patrick Lee,
Isaac Schmitke, and
Ethan Gregory complete the Messiah roster constructed by Head Coach
Brad McCarty.
McCarty is entering his 14th season at the helm of Messiah's Men's Soccer program. Joining him are 14th-year assistant coach
Aaron Faro, along with
Justin Johnson,
Benji Kennel, and
Elijah Steffen.
Schedule
Messiah begins its season, as mentioned before, with an away tilt at Washington and Lee on Sept. 1, followed by a contest at the University of Lynchburg on Sept. 3. The squad then plays four straight home games, starting with match against Carthage on Sept. 9.
The Falcons open conference play at home against Stevenson on Oct. 5.
Recently, the Falcons took the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth Preseason Poll as they seek to claim the 20th conference title in program history.
Follow along with the Messiah men's soccer team this season on gomessiah.com as well as on Twitter and Instagram @messiahsports. You can watch the Falcons at home events on gomessiah.tv.
