Aug. 13, 2012
TOPING THE WATCH LIST
Four men from Iona get Hermann Trophy nod

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The New York area ranked in the numbers of players being named to the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch Lists for 2012.

Iona leads the men’s Watch List with four players, Sammy Adjei, Borja Barbero, Franklin Castellanos and Oscar Ottos. Other metropolitan area players making the list were Leonardo Fernandes (Stony Brook), Shaun Foster (Hofstra), Ryan Clark (Monmouth), Nathaniel Bekoe (Fordham) and Jonny Raj (Fairfield), In addition, several players who hail from the area, but are attending school elsewhere also made the list. They are Piscataway, NJ native Marc Cintron (Providence), Yannick Smith (Hillaborough, NJ/Old Dominion), Brendon Burgdorf (westfield, NJ/Bucknell)

A total of 42 men and 38 women have been identified as players to follow this season.

On the women's side, no local area colleges were represented, but two players with area roots made the list, Maya Hayes (Penn State/West Orange, NJ), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina/Rockville Centre) and Kelsey Haycook (point Pleaseant, NY/LaSlaae)

Each list will be narrowed down by NSCAA members from Division I programs to 15 semifinalists by November 29. Member coaches and fans will then vote for their top three choices and the finalists will be announced December 6. The winners will be announced at the awards’ banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 11.

Fifty-seven NCAA Division I schools throughout the United States are represented on this year’s Watch Lists. The two groups also include 13 semifinalists from the 2011 MAC Hermann Awards.

In addition to Iona's four, Connecticut, Coastal Carolina, Memphis, Old Dominion, Furman, Maryland and New Mexico each have two players on the list.

The men’s list also includes four 2011 semifinalists: senior forward Ashton Bennett (Coastal Carolina/Claredon, Jamaica), junior forward Mark Sherrod (Memphis/Knoxville, Tenn.), senior forward Yannick Smith (Old Dominion/Hillsborough, N.J.), and junior forward Gyasi Zardes (CSU Bakersfield/Hawthorne, Calif.).

On the women’s side, there are nine schools with at least two players listed. This year’s list also includes 2011 finalist Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.), a junior forward at Penn State.

The other eight 2011 semifinalists include: junior defender Natasha Anasi (Duke/Arlington, Texas), sophomore midfielder Morgan Brian (Virginia/St. Simon’s Island, Ga.), senior goalkeeper Adrianna Franch (Oklahoma State/Salina, Kan.), senior defender Ines Jaurena (Florida State/Charenton Ie Pont, France), junior midfielder Julie Johnston (Santa Clara/Mesa, Ariz.), senior forward Tiffany McCarty (Florida State/Laurel, Md.), junior forward Katie Stengel (Wake Forest/Melbourne, Fla.), and senior midfielder Mallory Schaffer (William & Mary/Allison Park, Pa.).