Florida Soccer’s Savannah Jordan & Christen Westphal among MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalists
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Florida – A pair of Gators - junior striker Savannah Jordan and senior defender Christen Westphal – are is among the 15 semifinalists for the 2015 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy.
Florida and West Virginia are the only two programs with a pair of semifinalists on the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy list.
About the MAC Hermann Trophy
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual intercollegiate award for soccer. This year's winner will be revealed Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 at the Downtown Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jordan also was a semifinalist in 2014. Both Westphal and Jordan were on the award's watch list in 2014 and 2015.
Virginia midfielder Morgan Brian became the eighth player in the award's history to claim the honor in consecutive years, as she claimed it as a junior and again as a senior in 2014.
Jordan in 2015:
· Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year – second such honor as also received 2013 award
· All-SEC first team for third consecutive year & SEC All-Tournament team
· Second in nation with 24 goals and 55 points (through Nov. 28 play) – those totals lead the SEC
· Top 10 on four Gator career charts – No. 4 goals (65), No. 6 points (148), No. T2 game-winning goals (18) and No. 4 shots (342)
· Career total through junior season equals Gator Great Abby Wambach's 65 goals in her first three seasons
· One of 14 in NCAA history to score 65 goals through junior year – and one of five to reach that mark since 2000
· Two goals versus William & Mary in NCAA Second Round was sixth multi-goal match of season and 17th of career
· College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America second team
Westphal in 2015:
· Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year
· All-SEC every year of collegiate career, including three consecutive appearances on first team
· SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player with seven points earned over three matches – including registering game-winning goals off free kicks in semifinal and final matches
· Led Gators with 13 assists, which is first in the SEC and T4th in the nation (through Nov. 28 play)
· Third among Gators with 19 points – the most ever in a season by a Gator defender
· Played the entirety of 21 matches as center back in 2015, averaging 90 minutes per match. Finished second on Gator Career Charts for complete matches played (77), minutes (8,486) and consecutive starts (95).
What's Next?
NCAA Division I coaches vote for their top choices Tuesday, Dec. 1 through Thursday, Dec. 10 within myNSCAA on NSCAA.com. Starting today, soccer fans can also let their collective voice be heard by voting for their favorite player on the MAC Hermann Trophy website.
Six finalists (three men, three women) will be named finalists on Friday, Dec. 11 during the 2015 NCAA Men's College Cup in Cary, N.C.
The winners are announced at the banquet on Friday, Jan. 8, 2015. Recently retired U.S. Women's National Team star, Shannon Boxx, will be the featured speaker at the banquet at the Downtown Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, MO.
Gators in 2015:
Florida's 2015 season ended in the NCAA Round of 16 with a 2-1 loss to Duke.
The Gators turned in a 19-4-1 record, swept the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament titles and was a No. 2 region seed for 2015 NCAA play. Four Gators – Meggie Dougherty Howard, Claire Falknor, Jordan and Westphal – were named All-SEC.
| 2015 Missouri Athletic Club's Women's Hermann Trophy Semifinalists* | ||||
| Name | Class | Position | School | Hometown |
| Rebecca Wilson | SR | F | Cal State Fullerton | Placentia, Calif. |
| Rachel Hill | JR | F | Connecticut | Rollinsford, N.H. |
| JR | F | Florida | Fayetteville, Ga. | |
| SR | D | Florida | Brecksville, Ohio | |
| Megan Connolly | FR | MF | Florida State | Cork, Ireland |
| Leah Galton | SO | F | Hofstra | Harrogate, England |
| Raquel Rodriguez | SR | MF | Penn State | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Tyler Lussi | JR | F | Princeton | Lutherville, Md. |
| Rachel Daly | SR | F | St. John's | Harrogate, England |
| Andi Sullivan | SO | MF | Stanford | Lorton, Va. |
| Janine Beckie | SR | F | Texas Tech | Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| Emily Sonnett | SR | D | Virginia | Marietta, Ga. |
| Kadeisha Buchanan | JR | D | West Virginia | Brampton, Ont. |
| Ashley Lawrence | JR | MF | West Virginia | Toronto, Ont. |
| Rose Lavelle | JR | MF | Wisconsin | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| *As voted on by Division I member coaches of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America | ||||
