SPOKANE, Wash. -- Seattle Pacific defender Jon Pearman received the Freshman of the Year award and four of his teammates were first-team all-league selections when the Great Northwest Athletic Conference awards were announced by Commissioner Richard Hannan.

Pearman (Glendale, Ariz.) played all 19 games on the back line, helping the Falcons to an 11-5-3 record. He anchored a defense that shut out six opponents and surrendered just 22 goals. Pearman shared the GNAC honor with Western Washington freshman defender Chris Brundage.

Four of the the league's first-team all-star members were repeat selections, including Falcons Alec Nelson and Elliot Morton.

A senior midfielder, Nelson (Lynnwood, Wash./Meadowdale HS) registered six goals and three assists in 2009. He completed his collegiate career with 16 goals and 11 assists.

Morton (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), a sophomore defender, scored three goals from his back line position. Two of his tallies were game winners.

Nelson and Morton join teammate Tyler Schultz as three of the confererence's seven unanimous first-team honorees. A sophomore midfielder, Schultz led the Falcons with eight goals and three game-winning strikes.

The other unanimous GNAC selections were Sam Charles of Montana State Billings and Western Washington's Kellan Brown along with Xan Nixon and Ruben Orozco of Saint Martin's

Joining Pearman on the GNAC all-star second team were SPU teammates Drew Williams and Kaleb Kuehn. A sophomore midfielder, Williams (Bend, Ore.) was the Falcons' top playmaker with nine assists. Kuehn is a junior goalkeeper who led the league with five shutouts.

SPU placed two freshmen on the All-GNAC honorable mention list, midfielder Chris Morris (Mercer Island, Wash/Mercer Island HS) and defender Caleb Nyone (Happy Valley, Ore.).

Montana State Billings' Charles was voted the GNAC Player of the Year, Northwest Nazarene's Renato Brito was the Newcomer of the Year and Rob Walker of Saint Martin's was the Coach of the Year.

The SPU men did not receive a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament despite a five-win improvement (11-5-3) from the previous season's 6-10-3 record. They posted a 4-3-1 mark to place third in the GNAC standings.


Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer All-Star Team
(* unanimous selections)

First Team
*Sam Charles, MSUB, F, 6-3, Sr., Chiswell, England
*Xan Nixon, SMU, F, 6-1, So., Seattle, Wash.
*Tyler Schultz, SPU, F, 5-11, So., Scottsdale, Ariz.
*Kellan Brown, WWU, MF, 5-7, So., Tacoma, Wash.
*Ruben Orozco, SMU, MF, 5-10, So., Des Moines, Wash.
*Alec Nelson, SPU, MF, 5-11, Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.
Oscar Jimenez, WWU, MF, 5-8, So., Mt. Vernon, Wash.
*Elliot  Morton, SPU, D, 6-4, So., Tacoma, Wash.
Tom Milroy, MSUB, D, 6-0, Sr., Aberdeen, Scotland
Chris Brundage, WWU, D, 6-1, Fr., Gig Harbor, Wash.
Zac Lubin, SMU, GK, 6-5, Jr., Bozeman, Mont.

Second Team (SPU players only)
Drew Williams, SPU, MF, 5-7, So., Bend, Ore.
Jon Pearman, SPU, D, 6-2, Fr., Glendale, Ariz.
Kaleb Kuehn, SPU, GK, 6-0, Jr., Marysville, Wash.

Honorable Mention (SPU players only)
Chris Morris, SPU, MF, 6-0, Fr., Mercer Island, Wash.
Caleb Nyone, SPU, D, 6-0, Fr., Happy Valley, Ore.

Player-of-the-Year – Sam Charles, Montana State Billings. 
Newcomer-of-the-Year – Renato Brito, Northwest Nazarene.
Freshman-of-the-Year – Jon Pearman, Seattle Pacific and Chris Brundage, Western Washington.
Coach-of-the-Year – Rob Walker, Saint Martin's.