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Miller Caps First Team All-MAC Four-Peat, Leads Nine Selections
Posted: 5/10/2011
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Messiah's post-season honorees were (from top left to right): Senior J.J. Miller, sophomore Heath Kupecky, senior Zach Cureton, sophomore Kevan Schellenburg, freshman Brian Meenan, sophomore Kyle Sproles, senior Phil Wendt, junior Josh Buswell and junior Jared Nies.

Annville, PA — Senior J.J. Miller capped a tremendous season with his fourth consecutive First Team All-MAC honor, highlighting a total nine selections from Messiah, the league announced Tuesday.

Miller was the Falcons’ lone First Team selection, though sophomore Heath Kupecky and senior Zach Cureton were named All-MAC Second Team. Senior Phil Wendt, juniors Josh Buswell and Jared Nies and sophomores Kevan Schellenberg and Kyle Sproles and freshman Brian Meenan were All-MAC Honorable Mention selections, giving Messiah five more picks than its five in 2010.

Again, it was Miller leading the way, as the midfielder and face-off specialist concluded his career as Messiah’s all-time leader in ground balls (579), face-off percentage (.655), face offs won (679) and faces offs attempted (1036). His 213 ground balls this season were second-best in all of NCAA Division III competition, while his .639 face-off percentage was the 16th-highest mark.

A throwback in the midfield, however, Miller was never just a face-off, get-off player. His 25 goals were second-most on the squad this season, while his 13 assists were the third-highest mark on the squad. Miller took 335 of the team’s 403 face offs on the year, winning 214 of them — numbers that were far and away the best in the conference.

A two-time pre-season All-American, Miller earned MAC Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman before following it with First Team All-MAC accolades as both a sophomore and a junior. The latter was even more impressive considering that Miller missed three games with mononucleosis, fighting through the illness at the end of the season.

If Messiah hopes to begin to fill the shoes of Miller anytime soon, it will attempt to do so by committee, as six underclassman dotted the all-conference awards, led by Kupecky’s Second Team honor. The King of Prussia, Pa. native scored 23 goals and dished out 17 assists, second on the team only to junior James Baden, who finished with 19.

Kupecky continued his penchant for scoring big goals this season, with none larger than his overtime-ending putaway against Elizabethtown College Apr. 13 — giving Messiah an emotional, 11-10 victory.

Cureton was also honored with Second Team All-MAC status, stepping on as a starter in goal for the first time as a senior and providing big results. The Grayslake, Ill. native finished with 216 saves (the third-best mark in the conference), allowing just 133 goals for a 8.50 goals against average. Cureton finished with a save percentage of .619, the eighth-best mark in the MAC.

Nies earned his first All-MAC Honorable Mention selection in helping Cureton in the defensive third, as Messiah limited opponents to just 8.38 goals per game, scoring 11.95 per game on the other end. Nies was third on the team in caused turnovers with 12, scooping 18 ground balls while dishing out one assist.

Wendt, Sproles, Buswell and Meenan complemented Miller in representing Messiah’s midfield on the all-league awards, as each made their first appearances on the all-conference ballot. Meenan and Sproles each scored 20 times, while Wendt finished 14 shots. Buswell, meanwhile, harassed opponents as a long stick middie, picking up 18 ground balls while forcing eight turnovers.

Schellenberg finished his first season in a Falcons’ uniform with remarkable numbers, leading the team in goals scored with 29 — the eighth-most in the conference. Schellenberg also dished out 16 assists for a team-leading 45 points, the sixth-highest amount in the MAC.

Lycoming College’s Stephen Romano earned MAC Player of the Year honors, averaging a league-leading 2.35 goals per game. Lebanon Valley College’s Malik Pedroso was named MAC Rookie of the Year. Elizabethtown’s Terry Corcoran earned MAC Coach of the Year honors, his first in six years at the helm of the Blue Jays’ program.

A complete list of MAC All-Conference teams is below.

First Team All-Middle Atlanic Conference
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown/High School
Johnny Casey — Widener— Attack — Sophomore — Glenside, PA/Abington
Dave Darling — Eastern — Attack — Sophomore — San Diego, CA/Mt. Carmel
Josh Fox — Widener — Attack — Sophomore — Wynnewood, PA/Lower Merion
Stephen Romano — Lycoming — Attack — Sophomore — Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.
Andrew Janusz — Widener — Midfielder — Senior — Easton, PA/Easton
J.J. Hoeffler — Widener — Midfielder — Senior — Cranford, NJ/Cranford
Greg Kenneally — Elizabethtown — Midfielder — Senior — Lutherville, MD/Loyola Blakefield
J.J. Miller — Messiah — Midfielder — Senior — Odenton, MD/Annapolis Area Christian
Rob Novack — FDU-Florham — Long Stick Mid — Senior — Madison, NJ/Madison
Ron Johnson — Eastern — Short Stick Mid — Sophomore — Carlsbad, CA/Santa Fe Christian
Mike Kenneally — Elizabethtown — Defender — Senior — Lutherville, MD/Loyola Blakefield
Matt Mandia — Eastern — Defender — Senior — Souderton, PA/Souderton
Nick Politarhos — Widener — Defender — Senior — Ridley, PA/Ridley
Brendan Corcoran — Elizabethtown — Goalie — Junior — Hershey, PA/Western Reserve Acad.

Second Team All-Middle Atlanic Conference
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown/High School
Shawn Corcoran — Elizabethtown — Attack — Junior — Hershey, PA/Hershey
Drew Canfield — FDU-Florham — Attack — Senior — Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon
Heath Kupecky — Messiah — Attack — Sophomore — King of Prussia, PA/Upper Merion
Mike Bassani — Widener — Midfielder— Senior — Califon, NJ/DeSales U.
Paul Colflesh — FDU-Florham — Midfielder — Junior — Moorestown, NJ/Holy Cross
Lenny Fox — King’s — Midfielder — Sophomore — Marlton, NJ/Cherokee
Will Johnson — Eastern — Midfielder — Sophomore — Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Acad.
Dustin Mulcahey — Elizabethtown — Long Stick Mid. — Senior — Honeyoeye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
Kevin McLemore — Widener — Short Sick Mid. — Senior — Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby
Jason Fluss — FDU-Florham — Defender — Junior — Farmingdale, NY/Sachem
Vic Marchetti — Lycoming — Defender — Junior — Cortland, NY/Homer
Matt Parrott — Widener — Defender — Senior — Downingtown, PA/Downingtown
Zach Cureton — Messiah — Goalie — Senior — Grayslake, IN/Grayslake

Honorable Mention All-Middle Atlanic Conference
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown (High School)
Ethan Payne — Lycoming — Attack — Junior — Farmington, NY/Victor
Malik Pedroso — Lebanon Valley — Attack — Freshman — Binghamton, N.Y. / Chenango Valley
Kevan Schellenberg — Messiah — Attack — Sophomore — Hagerstown, MD/Smithsburg
Brian Meenan — Messiah — Midfielder — Freshman — Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park
Matt Soldano — Eastern — Midfielder — Sophomore — Davidsonville, MD/Annapolis Area Christian
Kyle Sproles — Messiah — Midfielder — Sophomore — Lititz, PA/Warwick
Phil Wendt — Messiah — Midfielder — Senior — Grand Island, NY/Grand Island
Brendan Guerrier — DeSales — Long Stick Mid — Junior — Bellerose Terrace, NY
Adam Koontz — FDU-Florham — Midfielder — Junior — Oakridge, NJ
Josh Buswell — Messiah — Short Stick Mid — Junior — Mt. Airy, MD/South Carroll
JB Campanella — Lycoming — Defender — Senior — Lansdale, PA/LaSalle
Casey Decker — Elizabethtown — Defender — Freshman — Morton, PA/Ridley
Jared Nies — Messiah — Defender — Junior — Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt
Mac Nestler — Widener — Goalie — Freshman — Chatham, PA/Chatham
Aaron Bentz — Eastern — Goalie — Sophomore — Louisville, KY/St. Xavier

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Stephen Romano, Lycoming
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Malik Pedroso, Lebanon Valley
COACH OF THE YEAR: Terry Corcoran, Elizabethtown