LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Four Bellevue University men's soccer players have been recognized by the Association of Independent Institutions as all-Association performers, as announced at the annual pre-tournament banquet.
Defender Andy Wilkinson (Lincoln, England) and forward Inaki Aldao (Buenos Aires, Argentina) earned first team all-A.I.I. honors.
The team captain, Wilkinson anchored a back line for the Bruins which conceded just a 1.34 goals against average and tallied six shutouts. In addition to his defensive duties, he also scored a goal – the game-winner – against Dordt on Oct. 5.
Despite missing four matches with injury, Aldao scored a team-high six goals and added three assists which rated in a tie for second on the club. Among his six goals Aldao scored the game-winner back on Aug. 21 in BU's 1-0 in at Grand View.
Earning second team accolades were defender Finlay Bloodworth (Kings Lynn, England) and midfielder Toby Millward (Kings Lynn, England).
Bloodworth did well as he teamed up with Wilkinson to shore up the Bruins defense as he appeared in all 18 matches, making 17 starts. In addition to his defensive duties, Bloodworth was able to push forward at times which resulted in him recording a pair of assists in wins over both Northwestern and Dordt.
Millward, though he missed eight games, was a key piece of the BU attack as he scored three goals and three assists in just 10 appearances on the season. Among his goals was a perfectly placed set piece that helped Bellevue secure a draw against No. 5-ranked Hastings.
In addition to the all-A.I.I. awards, freshman Jared Robles was honored as the Bruins' Champion of Character representative.
Bellevue (7-9-2) opens play in the A.I.I. Tournament tomorrow as the No. 3-seed. The Bruins meet second-seeded Waldorf (10-5-2) for the third-straight game at 7 p.m. from the Grizzly Soccer Complex.
