Harrison Named Semifinalist for MAC Hermann Trophy
12/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest men's soccer freshman standout Jack Harrison has been named a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) announced Tuesday afternoon.
Harrison is the only freshman to make the list of 15 players and is just one of four underclassmen to earn a spot. The Hermann Trophy is awarded each year to the top player in college soccer. The winner is selected by Division I coaches who are current NSCAA members, but fans can also help Harrison be elected the Hermann Trophy winner by voting online on the MAC Hermann Trophy website starting Tuesday. The three finalists will be announced on Friday, Dec. 11, during the College Cup in Kansas City, Kansas.
This season, Harrison has taken the ACC by storm in becoming the conference's first Offensive Player and Freshman of the Year award winner in the same season while being named a First Team All-ACC and All-Freshman Team honoree. The rookie out of Bolton, England, has scored a team-high eight goals and 11 assists for 27 points on the season. The 27 points are the most in a single season by a freshman in program history, as are his 11 assists. With eight goals, he is tied for fourth-most by a freshman in Wake Forest history with Michael Gamble in 2012 and Rob Burt in 1980.
Harrison is the first Demon Deacon to be named a semifinalist for the trophy since Corben Bone and Ike Opara were named to the list of 15 in 2009. Since 2003, Wake Forest has had 11 players, including Harrison, named semifinalists for the honor. Three players -- Bone, Sam Cronin and Marcus Tracy -- have gone on to be named finalists while Tracy won the award in 2008, marking the only Deac in history to win the Hermann Trophy.
The freshman is joined by four other ACC players in Clemson's Paul Clowes and Kyle Fisher, North Carolina's Jonathan Campbell and Syracuse's Julian Buescher. Clemson, Creighton and Stanford each have two players named as semifinalists, all three of which are still alive in the NCAA Championship with Stanford bringing 2015 semifinalist Brandon Vincent and back-to-back semifinalist Jordan Morris to Winston-Salem on Saturday, Dec. 5, for a 7 p.m. Elite Eight matchup at Spry Stadium.
The recipient of the Hermann Trophy is selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the NSCAA. Three finalists will be selected from the list of 15 and will be announced later this month on Dec. 11 with those three finalists making a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, on January 8, 2016, for the trophy presentation.
