By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University men's soccer midfielder Alan Hernandez (Sr., Tigard, OR/Tigard HS) has been named Third Team All-West Region for NCAA Division III as selected by the United Soccer Coaches. Hernandez was named First Team All-Northwest Conference at the end of the regular season.

Hernandez is the third Willamette player to earn Third Team All-West Region honors in recent years. Trevor Jensen '14 was chosen as a midfielder following his senior season in 2013 and goalkeeper Braydon Calder '16 was selected as a junior in 2014.

This year, a total of 35 players received All-West Region recognition. Eleven players were chosen for the First Team, with 11 players on the Second Team and 13 players on the Third Team.

Hernandez and the rest of the Bearcats earned a Northwest Conference Co-Championship this fall and received the NWC's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats fell to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas), 1-0, in a hard-fought NCAA first round game. Willamette finished the season with a 10-7-2 overall record, including 9-3-2 (29 points) in the NWC.

Third Team All-West Region

Alan Hernandez (Sr., F) was Willamette's primary attacking midfielder. He scored two goals and earned a team-high five assists for nine total points. He provided a goal and an assist in the same game twice, including the Bearcats' 3-1 win over Whitworth University on Sept. 30 in Spokane. He registered an assist in four consecutive games from Sept. 17 through the game at Whitworth. He took 22 of Willamette's 62 corner kicks.

Hernandez played in all 19 games and made 18 starts. His technical ability allowed him to make accurate passes to various points on the field and made him valuable in moving the ball from defense into the attack. His skills also allowed him to create his own shot or make the final pass leading to a quality chance for one of his teammates.

In four seasons with the Bearcats, Hernandez played in 73 games with 46 starts. He scored 14 goals and contributed 11 assists for 39 total points. He finished his career with 118 total shots, including 54 shots on goal. He scored five game-winning goals and was 4 for 4 on penalty kicks, including 3 for 3 in 2016. His five assists in 2017 set a career-high to go along with a career-high five goals in 2014.