Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1030--Congratulating Messiah College men's and women's soccer teams on winning the 2009 NCAA Division III national championships. Messiah…
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1030--Congratulating Messiah College men's and women's soccer teams on winning the 2009 NCAA Division III national championships.
Messiah College, located in my home district, is a private four-year Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences in Grantham, Pennsylvania. With a population of 2,744 full-time undergraduate students and a student to faculty ratio of 13 to 1, each of these students are encouraged to grow through their education, faith and community involvement. Recently, Messiah was distinguished as one of only seven colleges in Pennsylvania to be placed on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its service to disadvantaged youth. Additionally, Messiah received the 2009 Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification for its outreach to the local community.
For the men's and women's soccer teams at Messiah College, 2009 proved to be a remarkable and historic year. On December 5th 2009, both teams won the Division III national soccer championships, remaining the only men's and women's soccer teams at any level in the NCAA to do so in the same year. The women's team garnered their third national title since 2005 and the men's team won their seventh national championship in the last ten seasons.
The Messiah women's team defeated Washington University-St. Louis by a score of 1-0. The lone goal was scored early in the game by senior Amanda Naeher, who was later named the offensive player of the tournament. She was joined on the all-star team by her fellow teammates Katie Hoffsmith, Amy Horst, and Katlyn Musser. Musser was named defensive player of the tournament.
Remaining players on the women's team include: Seniors Emily Cope and Carey Cortese;
Juniors Molly Bletz, Shalisa Brubaker, Joanna Haqq, Erin Hench, Sarah Henningsen, Katie Hoffsmith, Marla Sensi and Meagan Wademan; Sophomores Kelsey Gorman, Rachel Loya, Autumn Reilly, Olivia Scott, Jessica Shirk, Leah Sipe and Lisa Wingard; and Freshmen Stephanie Andrews, Tannia Nieto, Elizabeth Phillips, Anne Trapp and Corinne Wulf. Assistant coaches and athletic trainers include: Todd Balsbaugh, Maggie Futato, Bethany Sauer, Sandy Bush and Jason Besse.
Later that same evening, the men's team defeated Calvin College in a 2-0 victory, making them an unprecedented 7-0 in national championship game appearances. Senior goalkeeper Jared Clugston was named defensive player of the tournament, while junior Geoff Pezon was named the offensive player. Trey Overholt and Derek Black both joined them on the all-star team.
Remaining players on the men's team include: Seniors Brett Faro, Jevon Gondwe, Josh Mull and Calvin Todd; Juniors Jon Burke, Sean Cunningham, Kyle Fulks, Mark Jeschke, Keaton Kasiguran and Nick Thompson; Sophomores Trevor Lee, Kent Ramirez, Tom Renko, Jordan Sands, Danny Thompson and Sam Woodworth; and Freshmen Jake Berry, JP Fulton, Luke Helmuth, Dan Squire, Logan Thompson and Joshua Wood. Assistant coaches, managers and athletic training staff include: Aaron Faro, Troy Sauer, Dustin Shambach, Ken Heck, Gerard Marrone, and Beau Herndon.
It is with great pride that I congratulate these two outstanding teams, led by head coaches Scott Frey and Brad McCarthy. The teams, coaches, faculty and students at Messiah College have much to be proud of with both their commitment to academics and this remarkable display of athletic excellence.
I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 1030.
