Four Local Players Up for Hermann Trophy

UConn Leads Way with Two Semifinalists

November 30, 2007

Four standouts from New England schools have been named semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top Division I soccer player.

Alejandro Bedoya of Boston College, Andre Akpan of Harvard and UConn’s Julius James and O’Brian White are among the 15 men’s soccer players from across the country eligible for this year’s Hermann award, the soccer equivalent of college football’s Heisman Trophy.

The list of 15 semifinalists will be trimmed to three on Dec. 14. The finalists will then be invited to attend a January banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, where the winner will be announced.

BC’s Bedoya, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, is no stranger to national honors. The All-ACC First Team selection won National Player of the Week laurels on Oct. 30 and was also a three-time Player of the Week winner in his conference.

Bedoya lead the Eagles in scoring this season, registering 26 points on eight goals and 10 assists in 21 games this fall.

Akpan finished his 2007 regular-season campaign as the second-leading scorer in the nation, averaging 2.06 points per game for Harvard. The second-year forward had 37 points on 14 goals and nine assists, leading the Crimson and the Ivy League in all three categories. He was one of three unanimous first-team selections as voted upon by the Ivy League soccer head coaches.

Between Sept. 11 and Oct. 20, Akpan put together a 10-game goal-scoring streak, a feat that only nine other Division I players have accomplished. He recorded six multi-point games and tallied game-winning strikes against Boston University and Vermont.

UConn, meanwhile, is the only school participating in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to have two members from its team named to the list of 15 semifinalists. Duke is represented by Mike Grella and Michael Videira, but lost to Louisville, 1-0, in the first round.

A two-time NSCAA/adidas All-America, James is making his second appearance as a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist. He is also a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award after becoming the three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. James is the anchor of the Husky defense that has posted 12 shutouts and a 0.56 goals-against average. He has played every minute of the regular season, tallying the game-winning goal against Syracuse and a goal and an assist against Louisville in the BIG EAST Semifinals.

This is White's first appearance as a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist. He leads the NCAA in scoring with 19 goals and seven assists for 45 points. He has already been named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-BIG EAST after earning conference Player of the Week five times this season. White has had multi-goal efforts on six occasions, including two hat tricks. He became the first player in UConn history to tally back-to-back hat tricks and only the second to earn more than one in a career, let alone a single season.

The 2007 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Men’s Semifinalists:

Andre Akpan, Harvard
Alejandro Bedoya, Boston College
Mike Grella, Duke
Bruno Guarda, SMU
Andy Iro, UCSB
Julius James, Connecticut
Stephen King, Maryland
Joseph Lapira, Notre Dame
Peter Lowry, Santa Clara
Patrick Nyarko, Virginia Tech
Yannick Reyering, Virginia
Brad Ring, Indiana
Julian Valentin, Wake Forest
Michael Videira, Duke
O’Brian White, Connecticut