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That’s saying something, since they come from a program that has churned out its share of star players over the last decade.

And recently, the soon-to-be graduated seniors who were co-MVPs on the EHS squad this past season were rewarded as they both signed on to continue their respective careers in college. Sipe, who never missed the playoffs in baseball or soccer in his four-year high school career, signed on with Messiah, a Division III power that has won back-to-back national championships.

And McHenry, a goalie, who as a member of the Olympic Development Program has played all over the U.S. and as far away as Italy, will take his talents to Division One Seton Hall University, where he will receive what amounts to be a full ride (½ athletic, ½ academic scholarship).

While Sipe had the talents to also play at the Division One level, the attraction of joining a program with a winning tradition such as Messiah’s was too hard to pass up.

The two-time Section Two MVP who received All-State and All-American nominations did consider Division One Duquesne. But in the end, Messiah was where he wanted to go.

“I looked at Duquesne a little bit but for me it was easy,” Sipe, who will receive some academic monies, said Monday. “I had Messiah in my sights from the beginning. I thought about (Duquesne) a little bit because it is Division One, but the more I thought about it, winning national championships and winning in general was something I was more interested in. The quality of soccer at Messiah ... they could probably play with if not beat Duquesne.”

It is quite a process to get into such a prestigious program as Messiah. Sipe said from a group of about 100, they had narrowed their recruits down to a group of 30 as the fall season began. They then narrowed it down again to 10 before making their six offers in January.

Sipe, who is undecided about a major, fortunately, received the good news soon after that.

“They started showing interest in me pretty early,” Sipe said. “I’ve been going to their camps pretty much throughout high school, so I knew them through that.

“I think the thing that attracted me to them was my speed and the fact that I can play everywhere. I’m probably looking at least the first year or two on the outside. After that, they’ll use me all over the place.”

While picking a college was a tough decision, choosing soccer over baseball was an easy one. While Sipe was an all-section player on the diamond, he no doubts in his mind that soccer was the game he wanted to continue to play at the next level.

“I knew from the beginning I wanted to play soccer more than baseball,” he said. “I did (briefly consider) playing both in college but it would be too hard both because even in the spring there is still soccer going on. I must say, that last (high school) baseball game was weird because I was thinking that this is the last baseball game I’ll ever play.”
Sipe, who played all over the field in high school, hopes to step right in next season and be a key contributor to the program.

“The way they play, they use everyone so I’ll get some time,” he said. “They like to give everyone a couple starts so worse comes to worse, I’ll definitely get that. But I definitely have an opportunity to get in there and play a lot.”

McHenry, who also starred for the Mounts ‘basketball team, is hoping for the same as he makes the transition back to goalie after playing the majority of his senior season in high school at the striker position where he earned All-League status.

He said he considered several other Division One programs, including Virginia Tech, Duquesne, Dayton and Temple before deciding on Seton Hall.

“I just liked the (Seton Hall) campus, and the facilities and coaches were really great,” he said. “I knew both the coaches, the one is from ODP and the other was one of my club coaches. I just like their style of coaching. They are relaxed. They are not yelling all the time. Some coaches I’ve talked to, I’d go to their games and they would yell all the time and were too intense. I like that Seton Hall is more laid back and relaxed.”

While McHenry has spent a year out of net, he says the transition back to goalie shouldn’t be too big of an adjustment.

“It’s kind of like riding a bike,” he said. “Although it’s nothing too dramatic, I do think not being in goal last year did set me back a little bit. I’m going to be working hard over the summer to get back to where I was and hopefully further than where I was.”

While being a key cog in the Mounts’ lineup was certainly beneficial for McHenry, he said playing with the ODP program put him on the map which eventually led to earning a Division One scholarship.

“Oh that helped me tremendously because there I had a specific goalkeeper coach (John Amorim of Temple) who worked with me all of the time,” he said. “I’d be with him like 45 minutes twice a week. That probably helped me develop more than anything I did. And just playing against that high level of soccer because the pace is so much faster.”

Like Sipe, McHenry believes he has a legitimate shot to step in right away and help the Pirates, who went 13-4-3 a year ago.

“They have a senior keeper right now and the coach said that he is looking for me to play my sophomore year if I can’t play my freshman year,” McHenry said. “They are looking for me to step in and play right away.

“I just want to come in and play as much as I can and make an impact on the team,” he continued. “Just come in right away, do my best and see what happens.”

McHenry will major in business.