Aug. 24, 2005
University of New Mexico men’s soccer player Jeff Rowland was named to the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch List today. The Hermann Trophy honors the top male and female Division I college soccer players in the United States. The award is college soccer’s version of the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport.
Rowland, a senior forward from Albuquerque, is the No. 2 leading returning scorer in the NCAA after setting a school record with 45 points on 19 goals and seven assists last season. He was also named 2005 Preseason All-American by CollegeSoccerNews.com and Soccer America Magazine. The former non-recruited walk-on has made a tremendous impact in his three seasons with the Lobos, earning 1st Team NSCAA All-American, CollegeSoccerNews.com 2nd-Team All-American and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation co-Player of the Year honors in 2004. Rowland is an excellent student who has a 3.76 g.p.a. in Marketing and was the only player in the country to earn 1st Team All-American and 1st Team Academic All-American awards last season. He currently ranks fourth in points (68), fourth in goals (29) and fifth in shots (141) on UNM’s all-time list. Rowland is the first Lobo in school history to be named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List.
“I never thought I would be up for an award like this,” stated Rowland. “Being mentioned with all of these great players is a tremendous honor. It’s also a great honor for our team. It shows that people think we have good program because all of the players on the list are from the top teams in the country.”
“It’s great for Jeff and it is great for our program,” stated UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “Jeff is very deserving of his honor and hopefully he can start the season the same way he finished last year. It is another indication of where our program is on the national level.”
A total of 25 players were named to the watch list which will be reduced to 15 semifinalists in early November. Three finalists will be announced in December, based on their play throughout the season, with the winner being named on Jan. 6, 2006.
Men’s 2005 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List
Compiled by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America
Player, Class, School, Hometown
Gerardo Alvarez, Jr., Northwestern, Aurora, Ill.
Medhi Ballouchy, Jr., Santa Clara, Casablanca, Morocco
Blake Camp, Sr., Duke, Danielsville, Ga.
Greg Dalby, Jr., Notre Dame, Poway, Calif.
Leandro de Oliveira, Sr., UAB, Bryan, Texas
John DiRaimondo, Jr., Saint Louis, St. Louis, Mo.
Jason Garey, Sr., Maryland, Gonzales, La.
Matt Groenwald, Sr., St. John’s, Mt. Prospect, Ill.
Patrick Ianni, Jr., UCLA, Lodi, Calif.
Julius James, So., Connecticut, Maloney Gardens, Trinidad
Scott Jones, Jr., UNC-Greensboro, Dallas, Texas
Sacha Kljestan, Jr., Seton Hall, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Mpho Moloi, Sr., Connecticut, Soweto, South Africa
Justin Moose, Sr., Wake Forest, Statesville, N.C.
Dayton O’Brien, Sr., Memphis, Memphis, Tenn.
Dominic Oduro, Sr., Virginia Commonwealth, Accra, Ghana
Randi Patterson, Jr., UNC-Greensboro, Hackensack, N.J.
Jacob Peterson, Jr., Indiana, Portage, Mich.
Brian Plotkin, Sr., Indiana, Lisle, Ill.
Tyler Rosenlund, So., UC Santa Barbara, Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Jeff Rowland, Sr., New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.
Nathan Sturgis, So., Clemson, St. Augustine, Fla.
Michael Videira, So., Duke, Milford, Mass.
Marvell Wynne, So., UCLA, Poway, Calif.
Jed Zayner, Jr., Indiana, Overland Park, Ill.
The sixth-ranked Lobos tied No.16 Notre Dame 1-1 in their first exhibition match of the season in South Bend, Ind., on Monday. UNM plays its first home exhibition game on Monday, August 29, against Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks are ranked 16th in the NSCAA Division II preseason poll and kick off is set for 7:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) at the UNM Soccer Complex. Admission is free to all fans for the Fort Lewis game.