AU Men’s Soccer Tremendous Turnaround

AURORA, Ill. February 15, 2005 - Aurora University’s men’s soccer Head Coach Pete Watkins and his 2004 Spartans finished with the third-best turnaround for the 2004 campaign in NCAA Division III soccer.

Watkins led the Aurora University men’s soccer team this season to a 15-3-4 record and went 5-0 in the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference and captured the NIIC championship. The conference championship marked the first for the Spartan men since the 1997 season. AU had an eight-game turnaround from the 2003 campaign that saw the Spartans go 7-11-2 in Watkins first season.

In his second season at the helm of the men’s program, Watkins is 22-14-6 overall and 7-3 in the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference. The 22 wins place Watkins fifth on the Aurora University men’s soccer all-time list for coaching victories. The Spartans open the 2005 season on Thursday, September 1, when they travel to Blackburn College.

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