The Northern Athletics Conference announced its 2009 men’s soccer All-Co
nference and post-season awards. The Aurora University Spartan men’s soccer team placed three players on the NAC First-Team, two players on the NAC Second-Team, two players on the All-Freshman Team and one player on the NAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
The Spartans success on the field brought Northern Athletics
Conference First-Team All-Conference honors for senior midfielder Justin Pedersen (Carol Stream, Ill./Wheaton North HS), junior forward Nick Helmer (Geneva, Ill./Geneva HS) and junior defender Matt Reimer (Lake Villa, Ill./The Lakes HS).
Pedersen and Helmer led the Spartan offense, with Pedersen having five goals and a team-leading eight assists, while Helmer tied for the team lead with eight goals, four game-w
inning goals and also three assists. Reimer was a defensive ace for the Spartans, who allowed 16 goals, had nine shutouts and a 0.82 goals against average. He also had one assist.
Joining in the postseason recognition as Second-Team All-Conference selections were junior midfielder Mike Emma (Batavia, Ill./Batavia HS, eight goals, five assists and four game-winning goals) and freshman defender Trevor Bauer
(Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore HS, 0.89 goals against and nine shutouts).
Two AU newcomers to the Spartan men’s soccer program were honored by the NAC as All-Freshman Team selections. Bauer and forward/goalkeeper Ethan Cashen (Bloomington, Ill./Normal HS) played important roles in their first collegiate seasons as a Spartan. Bauer anchored the AU defense, while Cashen was a two-way player for the Spartans. He started th
e season as a goalkeeper (6-2, two shutouts, 16 saves and a 0.55 goals against average) before switching roles to help the team and moved to the forward position where he had five goals in just nine shots on net.
Rounding out the conference recognition for the Spartans is freshman defender Matt Bermes (Oswego, Ill./Oswego HS). Bermes was named to the NAC All-Sportsmanship Team. On the year he helped the AU defense to nine shutouts and allowed just 0.89 goals per game.