McCarty Appoints Collection Of Past Stars To Coaching Roles
Posted: 7/10/2009
More Men's Soccer news
Aaron Faro, Troy Sauer and Dustin Shambach will comprise Brad McCarty's initial coaching staff; seven national championship rings between them.

Grantham, PA — First-year men’s soccer head coach Brad McCarty looked no further than the Messiah record books to assemble his first coaching staff, naming ’03 grads Aaron Faro and Troy Sauer as assistant coaches and ’07 grad Dustin Shambach as goalkeeper coach, the school announced Friday.

“I feel as if this is an all-star staff with guys who have great hearts, great personalities and a passion to have a tremendous impact on the players who come through our program,” McCarty said. “Not only are they terrific guys, but they have an in-depth understanding of coaching and playing soccer the Messiah way.”

Faro highlights the list, as the 2001 All-American will serve as the program’s top assistant and athletics recruiting coordinator, serving as a liaison between Messiah’s admissions and intercollegiate athletics departments in a full-time role.

Along with Sauer, Faro helped the Falcons’ storied soccer program to its first two national championships (2000 and 2002), being named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year as a junior.

Following graduation, Faro spent five seasons playing for the United Soccer League’s Charlotte Eagles, helping the club to a USL National Championship in 2005 and a pair of runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2006. When not on the field for the Eagles competitively, he began working as the organization’s camp director, taking over team camp director responsibilities three years in.

After retiring from professional soccer in 2007, Faro began dividing his summers between his Charlotte-based clinics and a summer soccer academy in Chicago, ministering to college-aged athletes in an extended soccer camp atmosphere.

With both the Charlotte Eagles and Chicago Eagles falling under the umbrella of Missionary Athletes International — one of the world leaders in sports ministry — Faro was able to travel to places such as Holland, Japan, Thailand, India, Kenya and Brazil on a variety of short-term sports ministry tours.

In addition to his work with MAI affiliates, Faro coached the boys’ varsity soccer team at Grace Academy in Charlotte from 2003 to 2009, winning the National Association of Christian Athletics (NACA) Division I National Championship in 2004, 2005 and 2008 while being named the NACA Coach of the Year in 2004.

“Aaron demonstrated excellent leadership skills throughout his four years here at Messiah, and continued that development during his six years with MAI as a player, administrator and sports minister,” McCarty said. “I am looking forward to Aaron’s influence on the guys’ lives through his personal experience, his passion for sports ministry and his gift of discipleship.”

Former classmate Troy Sauer joins Faro on McCarty’s initial braintrust, concluding a three-year stint as the varsity boys’ soccer coach at nearby Northern High School (Dillsburg, Pa.) to pursue coaching at the collegiate level. Sauer helped the Polar Bears to a 16-5 record overall in 2007, being named the Division Coach of the year. Northern qualified for the district playoffs in both 2006 and 2007 under Sauer’s guidance.

Prior to his time at Northern, Sauer served as an assistant varsity coach at two high schools, working at Dominion High School (Sterling, Va.) in 2003 and Bermudian Springs High School (York Springs, Pa.) from 2004 to 2005.

“Troy not only has an intimate knowledge of Messiah men’s soccer, he has a passion and enthusiasm for the program that is contagious,” McCarty said. “He brings to the table six years of coaching experience at the high school level, and has been a senior coach at our junior/senior advanced weekend camp for the past three years. Troy has also been an important part of our camps and clinics for the past 10 years and has been critical to their success.”

Also a standout player on the field at Messiah, Sauer was a three time All-Region and All-MAC Commonwealth selection, scoring the Falcons’ game-winning goal in the 2002 national championship game and assisting on the game winner in the 2000 title tilt. Sauer’s 33 career assists remain second all-time in the Messiah record books, while his 93 career points rank 13th in the storied program’s history.

Perhaps no player can match the record book dominance that Shambach possesses in the Messiah archives, however, as the former goalkeeper ranks first in career shutouts (58) and career goals against average (.38) — all while holding three of the top four positions in single-season goals against average.

The recent grad will continue to impart his knowledge on future Falcons keepers, as McCarty promoted Shambach to head goalkeeper coach following two years of volunteer service on the Messiah staff.

“Dustin has helped coach here for the last two seasons, but he is stepping up his role as our head goalkeeper coach,” McCarty said. “He holds practically every goalkeeping record we have at Messiah and has shown the ability to transfer his knowledge of goalkeeping to others.”

Since his playing days, Shambach has worked as the Carlisle Area Youth Soccer Club Director and Trainer, overseeing game day operations and varying administrative functions.

“When he was a player, he was the heart and soul of our team,” McCarty said of Shambach. “He’s continued to show his love for Messiah men’s soccer through his commitment to the program, and his contributions will be critical to our success.”

Shambach helped Messiah to three consecutive national championships (2004, 2005 and 2006), while posting an 86-5-5 record as a four-year starter in goal. He is one of only two goalkeepers in the history of NCAA Division III men’s soccer to go through an NCAA Tournament without allowing a goal (five games), while his .38 career goals allowed average ranks third all-time in NCAA Division III history.

A two-time All-American, Shambach allowed just two goals in a total 18 NCAA Tournament games.

“In the end, what makes this a great coaching staff is that we’ve all been a part of Messiah men’s soccer, and we feel passionate about giving back to something that has provided us with so much,” McCarty said. “I’m looking forward to working with these guys as we try to maintain a standard of excellence both on and off the field.”