Nov. 29, 2012
Vote for the MAC Hermann Trophy
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame men’s soccer players Ryan Finley and Dillon Powers have been named semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy. The senior duo is among 15 players up for the award, which is presented annually and is the highest individual award in intercollegiate soccer.
NCAA Division I coaches who are National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) members may vote for their top choices from Nov. 28 to Dec. 5. New this year is a fan voting component, conducted through LockerDome, which allows fans to also contribute to picking this year’s MAC Hermann Trophy winner.
The top three vote-getters will be announced Dec. 6. The winner will be announced Jan. 11 during the MAC Hermann Trophy banquet in St. Louis, Mo. The Missouri Athletic Club has been presenting college soccer’s players of the year awards since 1986.
Notre Dame and Connecticut are the only two schools with two semifinalists up for this season’s award.
Finley (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley/Duke) played in all 22 matches this season and ranks second nationally in goals scored (21) and points (46). The senior forward is third nationally in goals per game (0.95) and fourth in points per game (2.09). Finley led the BIG EAST with 12 goals in league play and was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year.
Finley had six game-winning goals, including two golden goals. He scored the golden goal in the title game of the BIG EAST Championship, a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Georgetown. Finley had six multiple-goal games, including one hat trick. His 21 goals rank fifth in Notre Dame history for a single season.
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Powers (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) started all 22 matches in the central midfield and posted career-high totals in goals (5) and assists (9). The assist total currently is tied for 19th nationally. Powers, a two-time team captain, tallied three game-winning goals and played 2,011 of a possible 2,044 minutes on the field this season.
He earned first team all-BIG EAST honors this season in addition to being a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Powers ended his career by playing in 73 straight games, including 60 consecutive starts.
Finley and Powers were key factors in an extremely successful season for the Fighting Irish, who posted a 17-4-1 record and captured the program’s third BIG EAST Championship title. The Irish were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship for the first time ever. Notre Dame fell to Indiana, 2-1 in double-overtime, on Sunday in the third round of the tournament. The 17 wins were the most for the Irish since 1988.
This is the third time Notre Dame has had two MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists. Kevin Goldthwaite and Jack Stewart were semifinalists in 2004, while Greg Dalby and Joseph Lapira received the honor in 2006. Lapira, a two-time finalist, is Notre Dame’s lone MAC Hermann Trophy recipient as he took home the award in 2006.
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