Aug. 5, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame men’s soccer senior tri-captain Patrick Hodan was among 30 Division I players selected as initial candidates for the 2015 Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy. Presented each year to the top player in collegiate soccer, the official MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List was released on Wednesday through the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
A semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2014, Hodan was one of 13 NSCAA All-America choices from last season to appear on the 2015 trophy watch list. Hodan also joined five other players who were named semifinalists for the 2014 award as contenders on this year’s watch list.
The NCAA Division I All-America Committee selects the initial MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, with a particular focus on returning all-region and All-America players. NCAA Division I coaches vote for their top player choices at the end of the regular season to narrow the candidate pool to 15 players. Fans also have the chance to vote for their favorite semifinalist in November by visiting the MAC Hermann Trophy website.
Six finalists, three men and three women, are ultimately chosen for the award. Both the men’s and women’s winners of the MAC Hermann Trophy will be announced on Jan. 8, 2016 during the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
Hodan returns for his senior season with the Fighting Irish after leading all Notre Dame players with nine goals and 21 points in 21 matches (12 starts) in 2014. He was named the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was a NSCAA All-America first team choice, and was also selected to the Capital One Academic All-America first team.
Hodan is Notre Dame’s active career leader with 26 goals and 65 points, and has represented the Fighting Irish on all-ACC teams (second team in 2013, first team in 2014) during the program’s first two seasons as a conference member. He is currently taking part in an Under-23 College Identification camp running through Aug. 8 at the United States Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California.
Earlier this week the NSCAA officially announced its 2015 Division I national preseason rankings, with Notre Dame checking in at number four in the season’s initial coaches poll. The Fighting Irish received 534 total voting points, including one first-place vote, to join No. 1 UCLA (seven first-place votes, 624 points), No. 2 Virginia (15 first-place votes, 617 points), No. 3 Georgetown (one first-place vote, 561 points) and No. 5 North Carolina (514 points) in the preseason top five.
Notre Dame placed ninth in the final NSCAA poll in 2014 after finishing 12-5-4 and reaching the NCAA Championship Round of 16. The Fighting Irish were the top ranked team in the national polls four separate times last season and posted a 6-1-1 conference record in eight regular season games to win the 2014 ACC regular-season title, improving their overall conference record to 13-2-4 in two seasons as an ACC member.
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