Nov. 28, 2007
MISSION, Kan. – Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic), a senior forward on the Notre Dame men’s soccer team, has been named a semifinalist for the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy. The award is presented annually to the top men’s soccer player in the United States. Lapira won the trophy last season as he led all NCAA Division I men’s players with 22 goals and 50 points.
A panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) compiled the list of 15 semifinalists for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. Lapira will try to become the first back-to-back recipient of the most prestigious award in college soccer since Virginia’s Claudio Reyna took home the Hermann Trophy in 1992 and 1993.
Three finalists will be named on Friday, Dec. 14 in conjunction with the NCAA Division I College Cup and will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, January 11, 2008. The winner of the 2007 award will be announced during a nationally-televised news conference that evening.
The Hermann Trophy dates back to 1967 and it was merged with the M.A.C. Player of the Year in 2002 to create the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. Lapira became the first Notre Dame men’s player to capture the award. The Irish made it a clean sweep last season as Kerri Hanks received the women’s Hermann award. That was the first time that both the male and female winners came from the same school in the same year. Hanks, a junior forward, is on the 2007 women’s watch list.
This signified the fourth straight season that Notre Dame has placed at least one student-athlete on the semifinalist list for the Hermann Trophy. Midfielder Greg Dalby was named a semifinalist in 2005 and again 2006 along with Lapira. In 2004, defenders Jack Stewart and Kevin Goldthwaite were tabbed with the honor.
Lapira leads the Fighting Irish in points (22), goals (7) and assists (8) this season. He has moved into the top five on Notre Dame’s all-time goals list with 39. Lapira’s 99 career points rank him sixth in program history. For the second straight season, Lapira was a unanimous first-team all-BIG EAST selection in addition to being named to the all-BIG EAST Championship team.
Notre Dame (12-4-5) hosts Oakland tonight in the second round of the NCAA Championship. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Field. The Fighting Irish are seeded 10th in this season’s tournament.
2007 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy SemifinalistsAs selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)Pos. Name Cl. School Hometown F Andre Akpan So. Harvard Grand Prairie, Texas M Alejandro Bedoya Jr. Boston College Weston, Fla. F Mike Grella Jr. Duke Glen Cove, N.Y. M Bruno Guarda Jr. SMU Piracicaba, Brazil D Andy Iro Sr. UCSB Liverpool, England D Julius James Sr. Connecticut Maloney Gardens, Trinidad M Stephen King Sr. Maryland Medford, N.J. F Joseph Lapira Sr. Notre Dame Lake Charles, La. M Peter Lowry Sr. Santa Clara Fair Oaks, Calif. F Patrick Nyarko Jr. Virginia Tech Kumasi, Ghana F Yannick Reyering Jr. Virginia Mettingen, Germany M Brad Ring Jr. Indiana Rockford, Ill. D Julian Valentin Sr. WakeForest Lancaster, Pa. M Michael Videira Sr. Duke Milford, Mass. F O'Brian White Jr. Connecticut Scarborough, Ont.