July 20, 2016
NSCAA Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following a breakout sophomore season in 2015, junior forward Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.) has been named to the 2016 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List, as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Wednesday.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer presented annually to one male and female athlete. The winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, during the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
Schafer, a 2016 co-captain for the Nittany Lions, is one of 36 members on the watch list for women's soccer. She joins Simone Kolander (Minnesota) and Rose Lavelle (Wisconsin) as representatives from the Big Ten on the watch list.
During the 2015 season, Schafer started 24 of 27 contests, led the team and Big Ten in goals (13) and points (30) and tallied at least one point in 11 of the final 17 games of the year. Six of her 13 goals last season clinched a victory for the Blue and White.
Schafer's honors in 2015 included: NSCAA All-Great Lakes region first team, All-Big Ten second team, TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week (11/24), Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
This past January, Raquel Rodriguez became the second member of the Penn State women's soccer program to receive the award, as Christie Welsh brought home the honor in 2001.
Near the end of the collegiate regular season, NCAA Division I coaches whose programs are NSCAA College Services program members, will participate in the 2016 NSCAA All-America selection process and the MAC Hermann Trophy lists will be narrowed down to the top 15 players for men and women. College soccer fans will also have the opportunity to participate in the selection process, by voting for their favorite semifinalists in November at the MAC Hermann Trophy website, managed by LockerDome.
From that pool of 30, a total of six finalists (three men, three women) will be chosen for the final balloting for the award. The finalists will be invited to St. Louis for the official announcement of the two winners at a press conference prior to the annual MAC Hermann Trophy Banquet.