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Binger, Black Lead Six All-Conference Selections For Messiah
Messiah's post-season honorees were (from top left to right): Senior JD Binger, freshman Derek Black, junior Josh Mull, sophomore Geoff Pezon, senior Josh Sanders and sophomore Nick Thompson.
Annville, PA — On the precipice of the program’s 12th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Messiah men’s soccer team was honored by the Middle Atlantic States Athletic Corporation Wednesday, posting six All-MAC Commonwealth Conference selections as well as the league’s rookie of the year and player of the year awards. Senior defender JD Binger was named the Commonwealth’s Player of the Year while freshman Derek Black earned Commonwealth Rookie of the Year honors, both making the league’s first team. Binger and Black were joined by junior Josh Mull, sophomore Geoff Pezon, senior Josh Sanders and sophomore Nick Thompson, giving Messiah over half of the league’s 11 first-team selections. The Player of the Year honor was the first for Binger, as 2008 graduate and current Chicago Fire member Kai Kasiguran had claimed the previous three awards. Binger has made a solid name for himself during his career, however, being selected an NSCAA All-American following his junior season. The 6-2 center back helped anchor a defensive unit that posted 13 shut-outs to date this year, getting involved in the offense for two goals — bringing his career total to six. The all-conference award was Binger’s third overall. Mull complemented Binger’s efforts at the left defensive back position, earning his second all-conference award — and first on the top team — after recovering from an early-season injury. Since then, Mull has started in 16 straight games, adding an assist. The majority of Messiah’s offense was encapsulated with the selections of Black, Pezon, Sanders and Thompson, as the foursome combined for 38 of the Falcons’ 65 scores (58.5 percent), dishing out 18 of the team’s 39 assists (46.2 percent) as well. Those efforts were highlighted by Pezon’s breakout season, as the agile midfielder led the Commonwealth Conference in goals (17), points (42) and total shots (76), tying for the league lead in assists (eight). Black tied for fifth in points (16), while Thompson joined Black in tying for fourth in total goals with six. Sanders’ efforts may have been the deal-breaker, however, as the senior transfer from Air Force scored eight goals — third-best in the conference — while dishing out a pair of assists. Most of that damage came during the Falcons’ last seven games, where six of those goals were scored. Messiah won each of those contests — six in shut-out fashion — outscoring its opponents by a 30-1 difference during that stretch. Thompson was the only other award winner to add to previous all-conference accolades, as he was named a second-team selection following his freshman season. Lebanon Valley College’s Charlie Grimes was named Commonwealth Coach of the Year. LVC had the second-most all-league selections after Messiah, producing four honorees — three of which were second team all-league.
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