CLEVELAND – Adrian Corona (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) and Adrian Lara (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet Township) of the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team were named to the All-Mid-American Conference Second Team as the league office announced its all-conference teams on Thursday (Nov. 10). This is the first all-conference selection for both Corona and Lara. 

"I'm delighted for both of them," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "They have both been very consistent performers over the years and this is the first time they have been recognized by the other coaches in the conference. They helped turn the program around, were integral parts of the conference championship last year and haven't maybe gotten the recognition they have deserved. Even though it was a little bit of an off year for us, I'm really happy for those guys and I hope that as professional scouts are looking, they take that recognition and see that they are top-level players."

Corona appeared in 16 matches for the Huskies in 2022, starting all 16 games in the center of midfield. He played the full 90 minutes in 12 of those contests, finishing with 1,358 minutes played, second-most on the team. For this career, Corona appeared in 81 matches during five seasons as a Huskie, making 76 starts. 

"(Adrian) Corona is often one of the unsung heroes, he doesn't get the statistics because of the role we ask him to play," said Swan. "His name came up a lot more this year on scouting reports and there were a lot more people talking about Corona as being an integral part of our team, so I wasn't surprised when I saw this name (on the all-conference team). You are always happy to have players recognized, but especially when they are recognized without having the stats to push the nomination."

Lara was the only player to start all 17 games for NIU during the 2022 season. The centerback played the full 90 minutes in 14 of those games, playing a team-best 1,494 minutes. A two-time Academic All-MAC selection, the Shorewood, Ill., native who started 68 of a possible 69 games during his four-year career at NIU. 

"Center back is always a tough position (to get recognized)," said Swan. "The teams that concede the fewest goals typically have the defenders that get rewarded, but I think we rely on (Adrian) for a lot more there. He has been a big part of our buildup and his distribution is fantastic, so I'm very happy he was recognized, and that they were both recognized, even though we didn't give them the final season that they deserved."