2018 Heartland Conference Men’s Soccer team and awards have been released by the conference office and three Eastern New Mexico athletes have received recognition for their play this season.
Freshman Aderi Arthur-Dede has been named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Heartland Conference Second Team after leading all freshman in the conference with seven goals scored on the season. Sophomore Gabriel Peres was named to the First Team All-Heartland Conference while freshman Julian Trapp found his name on the Third Team All-Conference list despite seeing action in just 11 games this season.
Arthur-Dede totaled 16 points throughout the season and served as a constant scoring threat throughout the year for a Hounds team that finished fifth in the Heartland Conference with 34 goals as a team. The London, England native totaled 19 shots on goal this season and stands as the first player from Eastern New Mexico to be named as the Heartland Conference’s Freshman of the Year.
His best outing came back on Oct. 13 in a 2-1 road win over Oklahoma Christian in which the forward netted both Eastern goals. He also totaled a career high eight shot attempts in a 1-1 tie back on Sept. 15 at Lubbock Christian.
“It’s rare that you find a freshman that can contribute goals right away,” head coach Jon Fridal said, “Aderi has done just that. He’s got great feet for a big striker, which causes a lot of problems for defenders. The future is bright for this young man.”
Peres was just one of just three players not from West Texas A&M or Midwestern State to be named to the All-Heartland First Team list after captaining a talented Eastern midfield all season. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native finish ninth in the Heartland with an average of 2.56 shots per game while leading the Hounds in total shots with 46.
He finished the season with six goals and three assists for a total of 15 points and registered 19 shot on goal attempts. Gabriel is the first player from Eastern New Mexico to be named to the All-Heartland Conference First Team list in school history.
“The Eastern midfield has won the midfield battle in almost every game this year,” coach Fridal said, “Gabriel has been huge part of that as he provides a reliable presence that covers a lot of ground in our system. He defends hard and still has the energy and quality to get forward and make a difference in the attacking third.”
Trapp scored four goals in just 11 games after missing the first portion of the season due to injury. His presence up front was felt immediately as he also totaled two assists to score 10 points for the season.
The Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany native registered nine on shot goal attempts for the season and scored the game winning goal back on Oct. 20 against St. Edward’s in the Hound’s 2-1 victory.
“Julian was injured for most of the first half of the season, and once we got him cleared to play we learned just what we were missing,” coach Fridal said, “He may be a freshman from an eligibility standpoint, but being older, his experience proved vital to us. He can hold the ball up very well, he’s a big threat in the air and provided some pivotal goals for us in the second half of the season.”
The Eastern New Mexico men’s soccer team narrowly missed out on a berth to the Heartland Conference Postseason Tournament and will return a wealth of talented young players next season. The Hounds finished with a record of .500 or better for the first time since 2014 and will look to continue to improve over the offseason with an exciting 2019 season on the horizon.
