14 Pac-12 soccer athletes featured on the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists
SAN FRANCISCO – 14 Pac-12 soccer student-athletes appear on the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists, including two men, and for the second consecutive year the women lead the nation in number of selections with a total of 12 this year.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year.
On the men’s side, CALIFORNIA’s junior goalkeeper Drake Callender and UCLA’s senior defender Erik Holt represent the Pac-12 on the 31-player watch list for the 2018 season. Callender led the Conference in saves (78) and saves per game (4.33) last season to help the Golden Bears reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years. Holt enters his second season as team captain after starting all 16 games in the Bruins’ back line and is vying for UCLA’s fourth-ever MAC Hermann award. Both Callender and Holt earned first team All-Pac-12 honors last season.
All six Pac-12 men’s soccer teams open their seasons on Friday, Aug. 24, with three games broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks including OREGON STATE hosting Syracuse, STANFORD versus San Jose State and WASHINGTON taking on Maryland.
On the women’s side, the Pac-12 has the most representatives of any conference with 12 student-athletes appearing on the watch list. This is the most Pac-12 women’s soccer players picked for the MAC Hermann Watch List since the Conference had seven in 2010 and 2017.
Reigning Pac-12 and NCAA Champion Stanford has five student-athletes on the list, the most selections of any school. It is also the fourth consecutive season Stanford has had multiple student-athletes on the watch list. Defenders senior Alana Cook, junior Tierna Davidson and senior Tegan McGrady, junior midfielder Jaye Boissiere and sophomore forward Catarina Macario round out the list for the Cardinal. Boissiere, Cook and McGrady all earned All-Pac-12 honors last season, while Macario and Davidson were named first-team All-Americans and MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists last year.
UCLA is right behind the Cardinal with four representatives on the list. Junior midfielder Jessie Fleming and senior forward Hailie Mace find themselves back on the watch list after Fleming was named a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and Mace was named a semifinalist last year. Junior defender Kaiya McCullough and sophomore forward Ashley Sanchez also made the prestigious list after All-Pac-12 performances last season.
Sophomore midfielder Savannah DeMelo and senior defender Ally Prisock represent USC on this year’s watch list. DeMelo earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors last season and will represent the U.S. at the FIFA U-20 World Cup this summer. This is Prisock’s second time landing on the watch list after she earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors and was selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team last year.
COLORADO junior midfielder Taylor Korniek made the watch list for the second year in a row. Behind her four-game winning goals during her sophomore campaign, Korniek earned Second Team All-Pac-12 and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team honors last season.
The Pac-12 women’s soccer season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 16. Pac-12 Networks begins coverage of the season on Friday, Aug. 17 with five matches, including defending NCAA champion Stanford taking on UC Davis, UTAH meeting Minnesota and Oregon State against Clemson.
MEN
Drake Callender, Jr., K, California
Erik Holt, Jr., D, UCLA
WOMEN
Jaye Boissiere, Jr., M, Stanford
Alana Cook, Sr., D, Stanford
Tierna Davidson, Jr., D, Stanford
Savannah DeMelo, So., M, USC
Jessie Fleming, Jr., M, UCLA
Taylor Kornieck, Jr., M, Colorado
Catarina Macario, So., F, Stanford
Hailie Mace, Sr., F, UCLA
Kaiya McCullough, Jr., D, UCLA
Tegan McGrady, Sr., D, Stanford
Ally Prisock, Sr., D, USC
Ashley Sanchez, So., F, UCLA