Raquel Rodriguez is one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy as college soccer’s best player. (Photo: Penn State Athletics_
West Virginia junior defender Kadeisha Buchanan, Penn State senior midfielder Raquel Rodriguez and Virginia senior defender Emily Sonnet are finalists for the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy, given to college soccer’s best player.
Last week, Rodriguez scored the game-winning goal which lifted Penn State to its first-ever NCAA championship in women’s soccer. The Costa Rica international started all 27 games for the Nittany Lions and tallied six goals and six assists.
[GORDON: Penn State hero Rodriguez pioneers Costa Rica’s next generation]
Buchanan has won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year all three seasons at West Virginia. She started all 23 games for the Mountaineers, who registered a program singel-season record 15 shutouts and allowed only 11 goals all year. West Virginia made it to the Elite Eight, where the Mountaineers lost to eventual champions Penn State. Buchanan also starred for Canada at the 2015 World Cup, where she won Young Player Award.
Sonnett is the ACC Defensive Player of the Year who helped Virginia register 15 shutouts this season. She has been part of 55 shutouts in her career at Virginia. In October, she earned her first senior cap for the U.S. women’s national team in a 3-1 win over Brazil. Sonnett is likely to be the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. Portland Thorns FC holds that No. 1 pick and is coached by Mark Parsons, who previously coached the Washington Spirit. Sonnett played for the Spirit Reserves, who championed the USL W-League in 2015, the league’s final season.
The men’s MAC Hermann Trophy finalists are Georgetown senior forward Brandon Allen, Creighton junior forward Fabian Herbers and Stanford senior forward Jordan Morris.
The men’s and women’s MAC Hermann Trophy winners will be announced at the MIssouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Jan. 8, 2016.
