STORRS, CT (November 6) – Senior Damani Ralph (Kingston, Jamaica) of the University of Connecticut men’s soccer is one of 15 men’s finalists for the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s soccer. The 15 women’s finalists were also named including 2001 winner, Christie Welsh of Penn State.

Ralph has been a key part of the Husky offense since arriving in Storrs in 2001 from Meridian Community College. This season, he leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and four assists for 32 points, surpassing his point total of 26 from 2001. Ralph leads the BIG EAST in points, points per game, goals, goals per game and game-winning goals. In only two seasons, he has scored 24 goals and added 10 assists for 58 points, leading the team in scoring for 2001 and 2002. He has notched a total of eight game-winners, has had 19 multiple-point games and holds a 1.5 points per games. Ralph was selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team and to the All-New England Third Team in 2001, and a four-time BIG EAST offensive player of the Week.

Former teammate Chris Gbandi was awarded the 2000 Hermann Trophy after helping the Huskies capture the 2000 Men’s College Cup title, and Joe Morrone was the Hermann Trophy winner in 1981 after UConn won the national title.

Joining Ralph on the men’s side are three finalists from 2001: senior forward Pat Noonan, from Indiana; junior forward Alecko Eskandarian, from Virginia; and senior forward Mike Tranchilla, from Creighton University. Completing the ballot on the men’s side are: Ryan Mack, a senior midfielder from Indiana; Brian Carroll, a junior midfielder from Wake Forest University; Ryan Coiner, a senior forward from the University of San Diego; Ryan Futogaki, a senior midfielder from UCLA; Sumed Ibrahim, a junior midfielder from the University of Maryland; Nate Jaqua, a junior forward from Portland; Roger Levesque, a senior forward from Stanford University; Jordan Quinn, a senior forward from the University of South Carolina; David Stokes, a junior defender from North Carolina; Diego Walsh, a senior midfielder from Southern Methodist University; and Chris Wingert, a junior midfielder from St. John’s University.

Welsh is joined by three other candidate from last year’s list of finalists: senior midfielder Ally Wagner, from Santa Clara; senior goalie Hope Solo, of Washington; and senior forward Christine Latham, of Nebraska. Rounding out the women’s ballot are three players from North Carolina: senior forward Susan Bush, junior forward Alyssa Ramsey and junior defender Catherine Reddick. The University of Portland has two finalists: senior defender Lauren Orlandos and sophomore forward Christine Sinclair. Joining them are Abby Crumpton, a senior forward from the University of Michigan; Carli Lloyd, a sophomore midfielder from Rutgers University; Kim Patrick, a senior forward from the University of Tennessee; Nandi Pryce, a junior defender from UCLA; Marcia Wallis, a senior forward from Stanford; and Kelly Wilson, a sophomore forward from the University of Texas.

This year’s honorees will have the distinction of being the first to receive the newly unified award. This summer’s announcement of the unification of the M.A.C. Award and the Hermann Trophy completed the merging of NCAA Division I soccer’s three top honors. In 1999, the M.A.C and the NSCAA came together to create a single award recognized the top Division I players. The winners of the M.A.C.’s Hermann Trophy will decided will be decided by a vote of current NSCAA members at the NCAA Division I level.