Aaron Whitten Paces Conference Awards for Reinhardt Men's Soccer

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After coming within an eyelash of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship final, Reinhardt student-athletes were recognized by the league Friday for their efforts on the field this year with the 2019 All-AAC Men's Soccer Team and Awards announcement.

Headlining the Eagle recipients is junior forward Aaron Whitten, who was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year. The Locust Grove, Ga., native was second in the NAIA and conference in scoring with 24 overall goals and 17 in league play.

He had six game-winning goals and 51 points on the year.

Joining Whitten on the All-Conference First team are defenders Leonardo Fagioli and Gabriel Stefansson and senior midfielder Eric Weixlbaumer.

Fagioli and Stefansson helped anchor a defense that gave up the second-least scores in the AAC at 1.0 scores each time out on the field, including four shutouts in a 11-6-1 campaign (8-2-1 AAC). Weixlbaumer was a key contributor on both ends of the field and helped coordinate the offensive and defensive game plans against the opposition. 

Not to be outdone, Taylor Gray earned Second Team All-AAC honors following seven goals and seven assists during his senior season.

Nathan Ashburn was Reinhardt's Champion of Character representative for off the field work in the community, and in the classroom, numerous student-athletes made the All-Academic Team.

To view who made the grade as well as all of the honorees, click here.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Men's Soccer, please click here.