Three Railsplitter Men's Soccer Players Recognized At LMU Athletics Banquet

April 17, 2009

HARROGATE, TN - On Thursday evening at Lincoln Memorial University's annual athletics banquet, men's soccer players Aaron McKenna (Birmingham, England), Kyle Gros (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) and Felipe Nogueira (Uberaba, Brazil) were recognized for their accomplishments throughout the 2008 fall season.

McKenna, a sophomore defender/midfielder, played in 20 games last year for the Railsplitters.  From his back-midfield position, McKenna scored two goals and one assist for five points.  According to LMU Head Coach Helio D'Anna, "it's the intangibles that he does.  For those who only like to watch soccer, it may not seem as though he he a great player, but for those around soccer every day, you can't accurately describe the things this young man can do."  In addition to receiving Thursday night's award, McKenna has also been named All-South Atlantic Conference First Team, All-South Atlantic Conference Tournament Team, Daktronics All-Southeast Region Second Team, NSCAA All-Southeast Region Second Team.

This year's Most Improved Award went to LMU junior defender Kyle Gros.  A three-year letter-winner with the Railsplitters, Gros stepped into the Railsplitter lineup this season to play in 16 games while scoring one goal from his defensive position.  Gros has waited patiently for his opportunity in his first two years of collegiate soccer, playing behind numberous all-conference, all-region and all-american players. 

The Railsplitter's 2008 Best Defensive Player award went to two-time All-American Felipe Nogueira.  Following his sophomore season, Nogueira was named Daktronics First Team All-American for helping the Railsplitters reach the NCAA Division II National Championship.  This season, despite falling short of the NCAA post season, Nogueira's efforts helped him earn Daktronics Honorable Mention All-American while helping the Railsplitters to an 11-7-2 finish.  Even more amazing, Nogueira was able to finish the year as the Railsplitter's fourth leading scorer by scoring four goals for eight points.

 All of these young men also helped the Railsplitter soccer team to receive recognition from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for receiving the Team Academic Award.  To be eligible for the distinction, the NSCAA requires teams to post a GPA of 3.0 or higher of which the LMU men's soccer team has done the past several years.