Johannesson, Aristegui, Arnarson Named NAIA All-Americans | Schools

Auburn Montgomery junior goalie Vignir Johannesson, senior defender Matias Aristegui and freshman forward Agust Arnarson were all recently named to the 2012 NAIA Men’s Soccer All-America Teams.

Johannesson garnered first-team honors, while Aristegui and Arnarson each made the second-team. It is the most Warhawks recognized as All-Americans by the NAIA since 2007.

“It’s well deserved,” Head Coach Wulf Koch said. “It reflects their hard work all year, starting in the preseason. It’s got to be scintillating for Matias to finish his career with an honor like that, and at the same time it’s exciting for Gusti to start his career with this honor. Viggi has been deserving of this all year long with his performance. He’s been incredibly consistent and our No. 1 guy throughout.”

All three were named first-team all-conference by the Southern States Athletic Conference earlier in November.

Johannesson was a three-time SSAC Defensive Player of the Week, and he was also named NAIA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 15. The Kopavogur, Iceland, native finished with a 16-4-2 record, a 1.06 goals-against average and 92 saves.

He also had 10 shutouts, which was the second-most in AUM history for a single season. He recorded shutouts in three consecutive games in September against Freed-Hardeman, Florida Memorial and Truett-McConnell.

Aristegui started all 22 games he appeared in. The North Miami, Fla., native anchored a defense which allowed only 25 goals in 24 games this season. AUM’s 11 shutouts were the fourth most in the NAIA.

He also contributed offensively, with two goals and four assists. He had a season-high three points against Truett-McConnell on Sept. 21, and he recorded three assists in the first two games of the NAIA National Tournament.

Arnarson was one of three Warhawks to appear in all 24 games. He finished with 16 goals and six assists, leading AUM in goals, points (38) and game-winning goals (6). On Nov. 5, he was named SSAC Offensive Player of the Week.

He scored hat tricks on two separate occasions, against Lee (Oct. 11) and Florida Memorial (Nov. 17). The Kopavogur, Iceland, native also had two goals and an assist against Spring Hill on Nov. 3, and he scored the game-winner against Jamestown in the Second Round of the NAIA Tournament.

Johannesson is the first AUM goalkeeper to be named First-Team All-American since Nenad Cudic in 2006. Aristegui is the first Warhawk defender recognized by the NAIA since Kari Arsaelsson in 2007.

The Warhawks finished 2012 with an 18-4-2 record, their most wins since the 2005 team went 23-2. AUM’s season ended in the NAIA Quarterfinals with a 1-0 loss to MidAmerican Nazarene.

Source:  AUM Sports Information Director