PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams on Wednesday morning, with seven members of the Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team featured throughout the list.
Lars Helleren leads the Falcons with First Team All-GNAC honors. Helleren started all 19 games, playing 1,656 minutes in goal. He faced 198 shots, made 45 saves, and owned a goals-against average of 1.14 per game. Helleren made history in 2022, moving into fifth all-time in SPU history with 232 career saves. His resumé is impressive, owning 2021 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team Honors. Helleren also earned GNAC All-Academic honors three times while at SPU.
Aidan Thrall joins Helleren with First Team All-GNAC honors. Thrall was instrumental in creating chances for the Falcons. He played a significant role in helping SPU create 120 opportunities on corner kicks, most in the conference. Individually, Thrall had one goal that won the game against Western Oregon last weekend, one assist, and three points.
Rounding out the Falcons with First Team All-GNAC honors is Demian Alvarez. He made 17 starts and played 1,398 minutes. Alvarez was efficient, sending seven of his 12 shots on goal for a shots-on-goal percentage of 58.3. He finished the year with four goals, including one game-winner.
"It's always an honor for our guys to be recognized by the other coaches in the conference," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "The team had a league-leading seven shutouts in 12 league games. Lars, Damo, and Thrall were a huge piece of that. More than the defensive side of things though, those three were key pieces to how we built out, controlled games, and initiated our attack. I'm proud of the performances they had this year and excited for them to receive this honor."
After earning First Team honors a season ago, Alden Massey earned Second Team All-GNAC honors in 2022. Massey made 17 starts and played 1,072 minutes. He sent 16 shots on goal, scored two goals, had two assists, and finished with six points this season. Massey scored a stunning game-winner on the road against Simon Fraser on Sept. 29.
Ed Weise joins Massey with Second Team All-GNAC honors. Weise played in all 19 games and was on the field for 1,329 minutes. He was crucial in possession and on set pieces. The senior from Redmond, Wash. scored three goals, had two assists, and finished the year with eight points.
"Ed and Alden have been dominant players in this conference for the last five years," Sakuda said. "To see Ed get recognized is awesome. I know how hard he has worked to return to the field after such a difficult injury. Alden is the ultimate competitor and one of the most dangerous attacking players in this league."
Evan Aune and Cameron Yriondo earned Honorable Mention. Aune scored his first career goal for the Falcons during a 5-1 win over CUI on Sept. 17. He's earned GNAC All-Academic honors twice while at SPU.
Yriondo played 16 games for the Falcons and spent 977 minutes on the field. He scored three goals, had one assist, and finished his year with seven points. Yriondo is one of just seven first-year players to earn honors across all three GNAC All-Conference Teams.
"Evan and Cam are two guys that do so much for the team on both sides of the ball," Sakuda said. "They don't always get recognized in the score lines, but they were both huge pieces to who we were as a team this year."
