Messiah College News Archive

 The College Swimming Coaches Association of America has presented the swimming  team of Messiah College with the Team Scholar All American Award, an honor for teams that achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Messiah’s team grade point average actually exceeds the 3. 0 minimum and is at 3.29!

 For the first time, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) named a repeat player of the year: Amanda Naeher.

 Geoff Pezon was named men’s player of the year by the NSCAA.

 Additional players from both teamed earned a variety of other recognitions. Read more at GoMessiah.com.

n light of the World Cup, U.S. News and World Report magazine zeroed in on the best colleges and universities in the nation for soccer and ranked Messiah third among the top nine schools. Messiah is the only Division III school included on the list.

The Falcons are more than deserving of this honor. The men’s team has won seven national championships since 2000, and the women have claimed the national championship for the last three years.

See the full slideshow at http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/9-of-the-best-colleges-for-soccer-fans/3.

Jessica Rhoads, pitcher for the softball team, received a 2009 Shipley Distinguished Achievement Award, for her role in helping the Falcons clinch the national championship in 2009. The Shipley Awards are given to athletes who reside in York County (Pennsylvania) and have achieved at the highest level within their sport. Rhoads was a star pitcher at nearby Northern York High School prior to coming to Messiah College.

The awards were presented on Jan. 20 at York Area Sports Night.

Read the article in the York Dispatch.

Coming off dual national championships in men’s and women’s soccer, the Falcons moved into the top five of Division III athletics in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings, a joint effort of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and “USA Today.”

Chris Heisey `06 was a seventeenth round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2006 and, in the years following, has logged an impressive career with the team. This past season, his performance on the field, as both a Carolina Mudcat (AA) and Louisville Bat (AAA), earned him the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award as the Cincinnati Reds’ Minor League Player of the Year for 2009.

Read the press release about Heisey’s honor.

Read an interview between Messiah’s sports information director and Heisey.

Read media coverage:

“Messiah men’s soccer team continues dynasty,” Patriot-News 12/10/09

“Messiah womens’ soccer team dominated opponents,” Patriot-News 12/10/09

“Third time is still the charm for Messiah,” Carlisle Sentinel 12/10/09  

It was a heart-racing, nail-biting weekend for fans of Messiah’s field hockey, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer teams. Read the rest of this entry »

In a repeat of last year, Messiah College is once again making its mark as three teams advance in conference play! The field hockey is searching for its first national title while men’s and women’s soccer hope to defend their 2008 championships.

Messiah hosted a weekend of outstanding competition.

Field hockey: defeated Lebanon Valley College, 3-2
Men’s soccer: defeated The College at Brockport, 3-1
Women’s soccer: defeated Endicott, 1-0

Read more about these games and the teams.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics ranks college programs by assigning point values based on the successes of each team’s season. This year Messiah earned a school record of 696.75 points and finished 14th among Division III colleges.