GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro men’s soccer players Randi Patterson and Scott Jones have been formally announced as candidates for the 2005 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy awarded to the National Collegiate Soccer Player of the Year.
The “watch list” of 25 players was determined by a panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and announced by the Missouri Athletic Club. In November, the list will be paired down to 15 semifinalists before three players will be declared finalists and invited to the Hermann Trophy Awards Dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Jan. 6, 2006. Voting is done by the NCAA Division I coaches who are members of the NSCAA.
It is the first time a UNC Greensboro player has been named among the 25 candidates for the Hermann Trophy. UNCG is one of four schools with multiple players named to the list. Defending National Champion Indiana had three players among the 25 candidates that were announced. Connecticut, Duke and UCLA each had two players on the list, as did UNCG.
“Obviously it would be a great honor for our program to have one player included, but to have both Scott and Randi on the Hermann Trophy’s candidate list is more than we could have hoped for,” said UNCG coach Michael Parker. “We have had some great players in this program over the years. For these two individuals to be the first to be named to the list of candidates is certainly a tribute to just how talented they are and how hard they work at it.”
Jones, a redshirt junior from Dallas, TX, was the 2003 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Southern Conference selection last year. He had 21 points on seven goals and seven assists last year, including a team-high five game-winning goals. At one point late in the season, he had six straight matches with at least one point and five consecutive with at least one goal.
“I was a little surprised, but, with the good season last year, I can’t say it is completely unexpected,” said Jones. “It is good that we are getting some recognition after the great season we had as a team. It’s an honor to be the first in school history to be recognized this way. A lot of great players have gone through this program.”
Patterson, a junior from Hackensack, NJ, led UNCG and the Southern Conference last year in scoring with 46 points and a conference-best 19 goals and eight assists. He was a first-team All-American selection by both the NSCAA and College Soccer News and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year. His 46 total points tied for third in the nation last year, while his 2.00 points per game was eighth. His 19 goals also tied for third.
He has a string of 10 consecutive games with at least one point in the middle part of last season and had six matches last year in which he had a goal and an assist. He opened last season with 13 points in the first four matches as UNCG defeated three Top 25 teams. As a freshman, Patterson had 24 points on 11 goals and two assists.
“I didn’t really expect to be on the list. However, I am really just focused on winning this season. If we win as a team, then good things will happen to us individually,” said Patterson, who was the last player cut from the U.S. National U-20 squad last January after receiving a surprise invite. “I’m surprised that no one else from UNCG has ever been on the list. Certainly, Alejandro (Moreno) and Rusty (Pierce) were both great players, and they are now in the MLS. It’s a great honor to be in that kind of company.”
UNCG is coming off its best season since the University’s move to Division I. The Spartans won the Southern Conference last season and finished 19-3-1 overall, spending four weeks as a No. 1-ranked team, including three as a consensus in all four Top 25 polls.
The Spartans, ranked as high as No. 6 in the pre-season rankings, opened the exhibition season with a 1-0 win at third-ranked Duke last Sunday night. Ironically, it was a goal by Jones off a feed from Patterson that was the night’s only tally.
UNCG will host North Carolina State in its second and final exhibition match Saturday at 7 pm at UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Spartans open the 2005 regular season on Sept. 1 at home beginning at 7 pm against UNC Wilmington, the team that handed UNCG its first loss in 18 matches last season.
AGATE
Men’s 2005 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy
Watch List
(Player, Class, School, Hometown)
Gerardo Alvarez, Jr., Northwestern, Aurora, IL
Medhi Ballouchy, Jr., Santa Clara, Casablanca, Morocco
Blake Camp, Sr., Duke, Danielsville, GA
Greg Dalby, Jr., Notre Dame, Poway, CA
Leandro de Oliveira, Sr., UAB, Bryan, TX
John DiRaimondo, Jr., Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO
Jason Garey, Sr., Maryland, Gonzales, LA
Matt Groenwald, Sr., St. John’s, Mt. Prospect, IL
Patrick Ianni, Jr., UCLA, Lodi, CA
Julius James, So., Connecticut, Maloney Gardens, Trinidad
Scott Jones, Jr., UNC Greensboro, Dallas, TX
Sacha Kljestan, Jr., Seton Hall, Huntington Beach, CA
Mpho Moloi, Sr., Connecticut, Soweto, South Africa
Justin Moose, Sr., Wake Forest, Statesville, NC
Dayton O'Brien, Sr., Memphis, Memphis, TN
Dominic Oduro, Sr., Virginia Commonwealth, Accra, Ghana
Randi Patterson, Jr., UNC Greensboro, Hackensack, NJ
Jacob Peterson, Jr., Indiana, Portage, MI
Brian Plotkin, Sr., Indiana, Lisle, IL
Tyler Rosenlund, So., UC Santa Barbara, Port Coquitlam, BC
Jeff Rowland, Sr., New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Nathan Sturgis, So., Clemson, St. Augustine, FL
Michael Videira, So., Duke, Milford, MA
Marvell Wynne, So., UCLA, Poway, CA
Jed Zayner, Jr., Indiana, Overland Park, IL
- UNCG -