Nov. 8, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - For the third consecutive year, Santa Clara University women's soccer team member Aly Wagner has been named a finalist for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top players in NCAA Division I soccer.
This year's honorees will have the distinction of being the first to receive the newly-unified award. This summer's announcement of the unification of the M.A.C. Award and the Hermann Trophy completed the merging of NCAA Division I soccer's three top honors. In 1999, the M.A.C. and the NSCAA came together to create a single award recognizing the top Division I players. The winners of the M.A.C.'s Hermann Trophy will be decided by a vote of current NSCAA members at the NCAA Division I level.
The San Jose native is currently second on the team in goals scored with seven. She's added five assists on the season for 19 points and has started all 12 games she has played for the Broncos. Wagner has missed seven other Santa Clara contests while competing with the U.S. Women's National Team as it is competing in the Gold Cup, a qualifying tournament for the 2003 CONCACAF World Cup.
Winners of the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy will be announced at a news conference in Dallas, Texas, on Dec. 12 in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Men's College Cup and the announcement of the NSCAA/adidas All-America teams for intercollegiate play. The winners will be feted at a dinner at the M.A.C. in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 10, 2003.
Santa Clara's Mandy Clemens won both the Hermann Trophy and MAC Player of the Year awards in 1999. Christie Welsh of Penn State has the opportunity to join an elite list of soccer players with the announcement of the 15 finalists, joining Mia Hamm and Cindy Parlow, both of North Carolina, as the only women to earn back-to-back M.A.C. honors. Welsh is joined by three other candidates from last year's list of finalists: Wagner; Hope Solo, a senior goalkeeper from Washington; and Christine Latham, a senior forward from Nebraska.
Rounding out the women's ballot are three players from North Carolina: senior forward Susan Bush, junior forward Alyssa Ramsey and junior defender Catherine Reddick. Joining them are two players from Portland: Lauren Orlandos, a senior defender, and Christine Sinclair, a sophomore forward. Abby Crumpton, a senior forward from Michigan; Carli Lloyd, a sophomore midfielder from Rutgers; Kim Patrick, a senior forward from Tennessee; Nandi Pryce, a junior defender from UCLA; Marcia Wallis, a senior forward from Stanford; and Kelly Wilson, a sophomore forward from Texas round out the list.
The Broncos will end the regular and West Coast Conference seasons on Saturday night with a match against league opponent Gonzaga. The contest is slated to begin at Buck Shaw Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The Broncos will honor its five seniors: Emma Borst, Cara Hanelin, Devvyn Hawkins, Erin Sharpe and Wagner.