O'Brian White Wins M.A.C. Hermann Trophy

STORY LINKS

• White's Acceptance Speech

• White's Hermann Page

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. - University of Connecticut men's soccer player O'Brian White (Scarborough, Ontario) has been named the winner of the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in intercollegiate soccer. The award is the official National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Player of the Year award for Division I competition.

White, the third UConn player to receive the Hermann Trophy, led all NCAA Division I men's scorers in points with 53 and goals with 23, including six in postseason play. He also notched seven assists on the season. White was selected as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and was also a unanimous choice on the all-conference first team after earning conference Player of the Week honors five times this season.

He had seven multi-goal efforts this season, including three hat tricks. White became the first player in UConn history to tally back-to-back hat tricks, as well as three in a career. He now holds the UConn record for goals in a season, bypassing the mark set by Joe Morrone, Jr. in 1979. White is eighth all-time at UConn with 101 career points (40g, 21a).

"There are so many people who have contributed to my success as a student-athlete and I would like to acknowledge them and share this award with them tonight," White said at the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy ceremony. "Without their support, I would not be the player or student I am today. I am honored to have the opportunity to share this award and humbled to be among the great players who have come before me. Thank you to the Missouri Athletic Club for their part in tonight’s events."

Said head coach Ray Reid: "We are extremely proud of O'Brian's accomplishment tonight. He deserves this award as he had an outstanding junior season and it is a great testament to the rest of the players on the team, who were able to put him in good spots to score goals time and time again. As O'Brian approach his senior year, he has three simple goal - to graduate, to win the national championship and become the first back-to-back Hermann Trophy winner since Mike Fisher (Virginia, 1995 & 1996). This could not have happened to a finer young man, he has all the right values and priorities."

On behalf of the University of Connecticut Division of Athletics, Senior Associate Director of Athletics Paul McCarthy said: "This is truly a special day for O'Brian White, UConn Soccer and the University. O' Brian is a tremendous talent and a great person who represents all of the very best qualities of a student-athlete. We look forward to another year with OB as it's our genuine pleasure for this gifted student- athlete to represent the University of Connecticut."

The top runner-up vote getter was Virginia Tech junior forward Patrick Nyarko (Kumasi, Ghana) followed by the 2006 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, Notre Dame senior forward Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La.).

The Missouri Athletic Club has been presenting college soccer’s players of the year awards since 1986. The MAC was established in 1903 as an athletic, dining and social club. It has a “Platinum Club of America” status, which is awarded to the top private clubs in the country.

Two former Huskies earned MAC Player of the Year honors during their playing careers at UConn. Morrone was the 1980 recipient after guiding his team to the NCAA Quarterfinals, while Chris Gbandi took home the trophy in 2000 following UConn's second NCAA national championship.

Based in Kansas City, Kan., the NSCAA is the largest coaches' organization in the United States. Since its founding in 1941, it has grown to include more than 26,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. In addition to a national rankings program for colleges and high schools, NSCAA offers an extensive recognition program that presents nearly 10,000 individual awards every year. It fulfills its mission of coaching education through a nationwide program of clinics and week-long courses, teaching more than 4,000 soccer coaches each year.

An exhibition dedicated to the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy featuring all former recipients of both the MAC and Hermann trophies, the current winners, a replica of the Irish crystal trophy and the original Hermann Trophy is on display at the National Soccer Museum in Oneonta, N.Y. Additional information about the National Soccer Hall of Fame can be found at www.soccerhall.org.