Dec. 9, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Sophomore striker Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) was named a Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Finalist on Friday afternoon and was joined by junior Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) as an NSCAA All-American. Hayes was named to the first-team, while Nairn gathers her second straight NSCAA All-America Second Team honor.
Hayes is Penn State's seventh representative for the Hermann Trophy Award, presented to the most outstanding collegiate player during the season. The last Nittany Lion to be invited to St. Louis for the trophy presentation was Tiffany Weimer in 2005. Penn State's only winner of the trophy was Christie Welsh, in 2001, her second of three trips to the Missouri Athletic Club. Hayes will be joined by the Stanford duo of Theresa Noyola and Lindsay Taylor, both seniors for the national champion Cardinal.
The season by Hayes came out of nowhere as she was not on the preseason Hermann Trophy Watch List or any publications' preseason All-America ballots. The winner between Hayes, Noyola and Taylor will be announced Jan. 6, 2012.
Hayes is the 13th different Nittany Lion to be named an NSCAA All-American and the 21st First Team honor for Penn State all-time. The last first-team honoree was Alyssa Naeher's 2008 selection.
In the process, Hayes was one of 15 NSCAA All-America First Team selections. The sensational forward scored 31 times with eight assists and 70 points, breaking the Penn State and Big Ten record for points in a single season, while also breaking every PSU sophomore offensive record in the process. Hayes, who led the nation in total goals and points in the season, earned NSCAA All-Great Lakes First Team, Big Ten Forward of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team laurels throughout the course of the season.
Nairn, the rock in central midfield for the Nittany Lion offense, garnered All-America Second Team attention. A Hermann Trophy Watch List representative for the third straight season, Nairn had a career-high 13 assists, leading the Big Ten in the category while scoring three times. Nairn ranks fifth at Penn State in all-time assists and is a three-time All-Big Ten First Team member. The crafty midfielder is training with the U.S. Senior National Team in California in one of two camps preparing for the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in January. Nairn is the ninth Nittany Lion to earn multiple NSCAA All-America honors.
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--NITTANY LIONS--