BOSTON, Mass. (November 2, 2026) – Emerson College sophomore goalkeeper Asa Roberts has been named the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Defensive Player of the Week for men's soccer, presented by SKYBOKX 109 Bar & Grill located in Framingham, Massachusetts, the Conference office announced today.

Roberts earns NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career, marking the third Emerson men's soccer athlete to receive the recognition this season. He joins senior back Daniel Bede and first year goalkeeper Lasse Bartsch-Erforth in being named the NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week, while senior Thomas Pelino, sophomore Carlo Carson and first year Cade Lagerwey were all named NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week over the course of the season.

Roberts is the third Lions to earn NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season, collecting the honors for the first time (PHOTO BY Andrew Monson)

Roberts averaged 3.5 saves per match, stopping seven of the eight shots on goal he faced in a 2-0 week Emerson needed to earn a spot in this week's NEWMAC Tournament. He posted a 0.50 goals against average and .875 save percentage while playing all 180-minutes in the Emerson goal for the week. Roberts made two vital late saves to preserve Wednesday's 1-0 triumph over Worcester Polytechnic Institute, both stops coming with less than three minutes to play and then added five stops in Saturday's 3-1 triumph at regionally ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology to sew up a postseason berth for the third-straight year, including four after halftime to preserve the two-goal lead.

Roberts has started all ten matches played this fall and ranks seventh among NEWMAC leaders with his 1.47 goals against average and 3.3 saves per match, posting a .702 save percentage in 855:00 with one shutout.

Roberts has started all 25 matches played over his two-year career at Emerson, posting a 1.69 goals against average and .682 save percentage with 3.52 saves per match in 2,184:18 and four shutouts.

Emerson (9-5-4, 2-3-2 NEWMAC) has earned the No. 5 seed for this week's NEWMAC Tournament and will open postseason play tomorrow evening when it visits No. 4 Coast Guard Academy for a first round matchup in New London, Connecticut, at 6 p.m. The NEWMAC Tournament continues with semifinal round play on Friday with the Emerson/Coast Guard winner visiting top-seeded Babson College at 1 p.m. The NEWMAC Championship match is scheduled for Sunday at the home of the highest remaining seed (Time TBA).

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