Annville, PA (December 16, 2010) – Senior Aaron Gildner of the DeSales University men's soccer team was honored on Thursday morning by the MAC Conference office being named the 2010 Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete. The MAC picks one deserving student-athlete from each sport combining candidates from institutions in both the Freedom and Commonwealth conferences weighing academics and athletics excellence as well as the nominee's involvement within the community.

The MAC Scholar-Athlete award started during the 2000-01 academic year and for the first five years was given to just one student-athlete per season and per gender. In 2005-06 the MAC Conference moved to naming a Scholar-Athlete in each sport. Gildner becomes the seventh DeSales student-athlete to earn the award and the second men's soccer player, following Randy Sturm, who took home the honor in 2006-07.

To be nominated you must be a senior and must have at least a 3.20 GPA or higher. Points are awarded to each nominee based on their cumulative GPA and their athletics excellence, while also factoring in the nominee's involvement within the community.

A three-time member of the MAC Fall Academic Honor Roll, Gildner currently carries a 3.98 cumulative GPA as a double major in accounting and finance. He is the President of the Accounting and Finance Club at DeSales, has already secured a full-time job with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and has provided volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) for low-income tax payers during his time at DSU.

In addition to his excellent work in and out of the classroom, Gildner is a standout defender for the 2010 Freedom Conference men's soccer champion Bulldogs. Earlier this season he was named to the ESPN Academic All-America First-Team and is a two-time member of the ESPN Academic All-District Team, honored on the First-Team this season and the Second-Team as a junior. Gildner is also a two-time member of the All-Freedom Conference Second-Team.

Gildner finished his career this season with 59 career games played, five career goals scored, and 10 career assists for 25 career points.