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Messiah Dominates All-Conference Squads; Barton Named POY
Posted: 11/11/2009
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Messiah's post-season honorees were (from top left to right): Junior Julie Barton, senior Katie Love, senior Ashley Mowery, senior Liz Ziegler, junior Kourtney Ehly, senior Brittany Godshall, senior Emily Sauder, sophomore Nicole Carroll and head coach Jan Trapp.

Annville, PA — Another unbeaten Commonwealth Conference mark led to another barrage on the league’s post-season awards, as eight Messiah athletes were named to all-conference consideration, the league offices announced Wednesday.

Junior Julie Barton earned Commonwealth Player of the Year honors, highlighting five first-team selections. Seniors Katie Love, Ashley Mowery and Liz Ziegler joined junior Kourtney Ehly on the conference’s top ballot, while seniors Emily Sauder and Brittany Godshall earned second-team accolades.

Sophomore Nicole Carroll rounded off Messiah’s selections on the league’s second team, while 37th-year head coach Jan Trapp was named the Commonwealth Coach of the Year for the seventh time.

Entering the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record for only the second time in program history (the other came during the 1984 season), the Falcons’ multitude of all-conference awards was — for all intents and purposes — a forgone conclusion. As a team, Messiah led the Commonwealth in nine of the 16 major statistical categories on the year overall, leading the league in 13 of those standards in conference-only competition.

While the Falcons’ dominance came in numbers, it could be argued that Barton was the centerpiece to it all. The NCAA Division I transfer (University of Louisville) led the team with 12 assists in the center midfield, the third-best mark in the league.

Barton also tacked on seven goals off 65 shots, but most often was responsible for starting the attack at its inception.

Such importance was not lost on conference coaches, as Barton became Messiah’s first Commonwealth Player of the Year since ’06 grad Aftan Fisher earned co-player of the year honors in her senior season. It was Messiah’s first lone POY since 2004 graduate Danae Chambers completed her run of four consecutive honors.

Both Love and Ehly were beneficiaries of Barton’s continual efforts, as each scored 23 goals and tallied 10 assists, leading the team with 56 points on mirroring numbers. Both scored 10 goals in conference play (leading the league), while Ehly finished just ahead of Love in total points, dishing out three more assists than Love against league opponents.

Ziegler, meanwhile, put up solid numbers for the fourth straight year, finishing tied for fifth on the team in goals (seven) and fourth in assists (eight) while racking up 22 total points. Mowery, meanwhile, helped anchor a defense that allowed a conference-low 15 goals — just a 0.79 goals-per-game allotment.

Mowery enters NCAA Tournament play with 66 saves and an 82.5 percent save percentage, going wire-to-wire in five of the team’s total nine shutouts on the year.

Both Carroll and Godshall were key components to Messiah’s sturdy backline, often times thwarting any dangers before they came to Mowery. Messiah outshot its opponents by a 435-135 count on the year, outscoring its competition by a 101-15 margin.

Sauder did a little bit of everything in earning her third all-conference award, scoring three goals and dishing out eight assists — all while helping out in the team’s defensive scheme as well. Messiah led the Commonwealth in both scoring margin (+5.71) and scoring average (6.70 goals per game).

Of Messiah’s eight all-league selections, only Carroll was a first-timer. Barton, Godshall and Ziegler added to their first-team selections from a year ago, while Mowery received her initial first-team award after being named second team all-conference as both a sophomore and a junior. Ehly claimed her initial first-team honor after being named last season’s Commonwealth Rookie of the Year and second-teamer. This year’s ballot marked the first time Love was named a first team all-league performer; she was voted to the conference’s second team following her sophomore campaign.

Trapp, meanwhile, earned her seventh coach of the year honor — and second straight — after capturing her 500th career win in the Commonwealth Championship game over Lebanon Valley College.

Lebanon Valley’s Caitlin Vassey earned this season’s Commonwealth Rookie of the Year honors. After Messiah, the Flying Dutchmen were the next-best represented team on the all-league ballot, posting six selections.

First Team All-Commonwealth
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown (High School)
Kourtney Ehly — Messiah — Forward — Junior — Boiling Springs, PA (Boiling Springs)
Shelly Lobach — Lebanon Valley — Forward — Junior — Hanover, PA (South Western)
Katie Love — Messiah — Forward — Senior — Hockessin, DE (Wilmington Christian)
Julie Barton — Messiah — Midfield — Junior — Hummelstown, PA (Lower Dauphin)
Avery Carter — Lebanon Valley — Midfield — Senior — Perkiomenville, PA (Perkiomen)
Julie Foster — Elizabethtown — Midfield — Junior — Reading, PA (Oley Valley)
Liz Ziegler — Messiah — Midfield — Senior — Myerstown, PA (ELCO)
Danielle Blasé — Lebanon Valley — Defense — Senior — Warminster, PA (William Tennett)
Nikki Bomberger — Lebanon Valley — Defense — Senior — Lititz, PA (Warwick)
Caitlin Smith — Elizabethtown — Defense — Senior — Haddonfield, NJ (Bishop Eustace)
Ashley Mowery — Messiah — Goalie — Senior — Lewisberry, PA (Northern)

Second Team All-Commonwealth
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown (High School)
Brenna Noon — Elizabethtown — Forward — Senior — Wyomissing, PA (Wyomissing)
Jocelyn Novak — Lebanon Valley — Forward — Sophomore — Brodheadsville, PA (Pleasant Valley)
Janelle Lynch — Alvernia — Forward — Senior — Macungie, PA (Brandywine Heights)
Jessica Gonzalez — Widener — Midfield — Senior — Easthampton, NJ (Rancocas Valley)
Emily Sauder — Messiah — Midfield — Senior — Reinholds, PA (Cocalico)
Megan Scarpinato — Widener — Midfield — Junior — Sewell, NJ (Washington Twp.)
Jenni Walker — Lebanon Valley — Midfield — Sophomore — Mechanicsburg, PA (Mechanicsburg)
Nicole Carroll — Messiah — Defense — Sophomore — Birdsboro, PA (Twin Valley)
Brittany Godshall — Messiah — Defense — Senior — Souderton, PA (Souderton)
Ashley McCarthy — Arcadia — Defense — Junior — East Norristown, Pa (Norristown)
Amanda Nagy — Widener — Defense — Junior — Lititz, PA (Manheim Township)
Liz Hannegan — Elizabethtown — Goalie — Senior — Lancaster, PA (McCaskey)
Caitlin Baro — Lebanon Valley — Goalie — Senior — Douglassville, PA (Pottsgrove)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Julie Barton, Messiah
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Caitlin Vassey, Lebanon Valley
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jan Trapp, Messiah