Jacob Bender belongs in professional soccer.

The Charlotte Independence announced the signing of the striker/midfielder today.

“Jacob’s been interesting,” coach Mike Jeffries said. “Probably every step of the way I’ve said to him, ‘I don’t think you have much of a chance, but I like what you are doing, and there is something there that fits with what we do and what we look for. Every step of the way, he has pushed past that.”

A December graduate of Messiah (Pa.) College with a degree in accounting, the 22-year-old knew that in the spring he would either be playing professional soccer or enjoying his first trip to Europe with a visit to London.

“I just went for it,” Bender said of the push to go professional. “When you are young, why not try it? Just pushing into the pro scene I just thought, why not play my best. Why not give it my best shot. Each week, I’ve been getting better and better. There’s definitely a team culture here that’s been amazing to experience. Just playing at the next level, I’ve loved it so far.”

Said Jeffries: “He’s a player who has a very good soccer brain and some creativity. He has been pretty clever in and around that goal, including the Atlanta game [a 2-0 preseason win] where he came on late and scored, and also training day in and day out.”

Messiah coach Brad McCarty and Charlotte General Manager Tom Engstrom knew each other from when McCarty played for the Charlotte Eagles and Engstrom was general manager.

“I contacted [McCarty] to contact a couple USL teams and see what he could do for me,” Bender said. “He got in touch with Tom Engstrom, and Tom put me in contact with Mike. After that, I came down here for a trial. I was ready and excited.”

Bender was the 2016 NCAA Division III Player of the Year with 13 goals and eight assists for Messiah. He finished his career with 21 goals and 15 assists over 86 appearances and earned first team All-America.

“An issue a lot of times with guys who come in from Division II or Division III schools is the speed of play,” Jeffries said. “At first that was an issue for him, but he has managed to get up where he sees passes and can handle playing out of pressure. He is a very competitive kid, and he doesn’t shy away from anything with the guys. That’s a credit to his mentality. He doesn’t play like a guy who is ‘I’m so happy to be here.’ He plays like he belongs here, and that’s great to see.”

Similar in appearance to USL veteran midfielder Jorge Herrera, 36, Bender also has a similar playing style.

“Jorge is probably more of a pure No. 10 type of player that can play wide, and Jacob can be in that role,” Jeffries said. “He’s probably a little more suited to being a wide guy and finding different spots on the field. He has played in a number of different spots with us from central midfielder to striker. Like Jorge, he has plenty of versatility. Both of them are pretty clever in and around the goal. Jacob has a long way to go before he gets to Jorge’s level and prestigious career, but there are some good qualities there for sure.”

In stature, Bender mirrors German striker/midfielder Thomas Mueller. Whether Bender has Mueller’s scoring and creative capabilities has yet to be seen.

“I’ve been called Thomas Mueller by two guys on the team, but I think it’s just because I look like him a little bit,” Bender said. “My stature is a little bit like him—thin, with I guess the same color cleats, but I do like his style of play. I like to keep the ball on the ground. I like to pass and move. I’m not the fastest guy on the planet. I would like to develop more in my intellectual game and be able to have a high soccer IQ, be able to connect passes, and in the end try to make combinations and get in the spots that can be detrimental to the other team.”

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