Spartan Women’s Soccer Player to Sign Professional Contract

AURORA, Ill. April 11, 2008 - Aurora University Spartan Women’s Soccer standout, senior defender Alex Contreras (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield Central H.S.) has been selected to play for Chivas out of the Mexican Soccer League, Chivas plays in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico.

“Try-outs were fun, hard and a great experience in itself. I was there for spring break for the try-outs and they asked me to stay,” Contreras said.

Contreras will return to Chivas and play mid-field for the team following her graduation from Aurora University with a degree in health science and double minor in physiology and chemistry.

“Alex always believed she would continue her soccer career beyond college. She worked in pursuit of that goal and now she has achieved her dream,” AU Head Women’s Soccer Coach Kanute Drugan stated.

The Aurora University Spartan Women’s Soccer team finished the 2007 season as Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) regular season and tournament champions, their ninth conference title in the last 13 seasons, with a 19-3-1 overall record and 12-0 in the NAC. AU made a third consecutive trip and fifth in seven years to the NCAA Division III Championships. On the season, the Spartans out-scored their opponents 77 to 15 (23 games). The Spartans set school or tied records for wins (19), consecutive games with a goal scored (22), consecutive wins (19), team shutouts (12) and lowest goals against average (0.65).

Contreras was named D3kicks.com All-Central Region and Northern Athletics Conference First-Team All-Conference after her fantastic season in 2007. Contreras, a Third-Team honoree, paced an impressive Spartan defense that had 12 shutouts, allowed just 15 goals in 23 games, while allowing only two teams to score more than one goal and just one scoring more than two. Offensively, she tallied three goals, five assists and two game winning goals.

"Alex possesses a great passion for soccer; She is an unselfish player with excellent tactical aptitude and possesses a natural instinct for the game. She is a leader with a positive attitude and strong work ethic, always maintaining a high capacity for sustained hard work,” Drugan added.

The Mexican Soccer League consists of 15 teams including Chivas, the other teams are Universidad de Guadalajara, Tecos, Atlas Tlaquepaque, Coras de Nayarit, La Piedad, Morelia, Palomas SNTSS, Guerreras, Irapuato, Tepatitlán, Zamora, Colima, León and Aguascalientes y Guanajuato. The league season is going on now and goes through the middle of summer.

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