AUGUSTA, GA – The North Georgia College & State University men’s soccer team picked up a pair of awards Friday evening when the Peach Belt Conference released the 2009 all-conference team from Evans, Ga., the site of the 2009 PBC Tournament.

For the second time in PBC history, the league awarded co-Players of the Year, this time to Lander’s Adam Arthur and Clayton State’s Kyle Timm. Flagler’s Joseph Toby was named the Freshman of the Year and his head coach, John Lynch, the Coach of the Year.

For the second straight year, North Georgia defender Ben Chedgy picked up first-team honors, while goalkeeper Rade Tanaskovic earned second-team honors, his first all-conference award.

Chedgy has done something no other North Georgia men’s soccer player has done since the institution entered the Peach Belt in 2005, earning First-Team Peach Belt All-Conference honors in consecutive seasons. After earning the award last season, Chedgy played and started 14 games for the Saints in 2009, logging a team-high 1224 minutes of action to anchor the North Georgia defense. The junior tallied one goal and had a shot on goal percentage of .667. He led a defense that was seventh in the league in shutouts, and fifth in goals allowed.

As a Peach Belt Preseason All-Conference pick, Tanaskovic lived up to the hype in 2009, being named Second-Team All-Conference as a goalkeeper. He played in 12 games for the Saints in 2009, recording three shutouts and a goals against average of 1.30 to rank sixth in the Peach Belt Conference. The sophomore from Serbia was second in the league with a .773 save percentage, while sitting fourth in the conference with 51 total saves.

The 2009 All-Conference team is listed below as selected by the league’s head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Forwards
First Team
Aaron Brittain, Lander
Andy Pullin, UNC Pembroke
Nathaniel Foster, Montevallo
Second Team
Leighton Fredericks, Clayton State

Midfielders
First Team
Adam Arthur, Lander
Kyle Clinton, Francis Marion
Kyle Timm, Clayton State
Second Team
Pol Berenguer, Flagler
Milan Pualic, Montevallo
Troy Watson, USC Aiken

Defenders
First Team
Liam Brown, Clayton State
Ben Chedgy, North Georgia
Jamie Ramm, Lander
Second Team
Ivan Juric, Francis Marion
John Lesko, USC Aiken
Kevin Partel, Flagler

Goalkeepers
First Team
David Cristofoli, Clayton State
Second Team
Rade Tanaskovic, North Georgia

At-Large
First Team
Johan Bergfeld, Flagler
Craig Hughes, Lander
Second Team
Conor Killeen, Flagler
Juan Rivas, Francis Marion

co-Players of the Year
Adam Arthur, Lander
Kyle Timm, Clayton State
Freshman of the Year
Joseph Toby, Flagler
Coach of the Year
John Lynch, Flagler