ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A trio of Duke women's soccer seniors have been named as potential contenders for the 2016 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy, which was announced Wednesday by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Missouri Athletic Club.
Christina Gibbons,
Toni Payne and
Rebecca Quinn are three of 36 NCAA Division I student-athletes in the running for the most prestigious individual award in college soccer. The winner will be announced Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, during the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
Gibbons, who hails from Raleigh, N.C., helped guide the Blue Devil defense to 14 shutouts in 2015. She also made her mark on the offensive side collecting three goals, five assists and 11 points as a junior. A First Team All-ACC, NSCAA Second Team All-America and NSCAA All-Region selection, Gibbons and the Duke defense allowed only five goals over its final 13 matches, including the second most shutouts in school history with 14. The defender tallied two goals and one assist during the 2015 NCAA Tournament run.
A 5-4 forward, Payne concluded her junior campaign with three goals and two assists in the NCAA Tournament as the Blue Devils reached the championship match. She finished the season with four goals and five assists for 13 points. Payne, a product of Birmingham, Ala., put the exclamation mark on a 2-0 victory over top-seeded and defending NCAA Champion Florida State with a goal in the final seconds of the NCAA semifinal match. She also added goals against Stanford and James Madison during the tournament.
Quinn is coming off a junior campaign where she started 20-of-23 matches, while registering three goals. A Third Team All-ACC selection and NSCAA All-Region honoree, Quinn helped lead the Blue Devil defense to 14 clean sheets on the year, which was the second-most in school history. Quinn netted the game-tying goal against Florida in the NCAA Tournament, while adding tallies against Appalachian State and Boston College. The defender/midfielder that is from Toronto, Canada will represent Canada in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Near the end of the regular season, NCAA Division I coaches whose programs are current NSCAA College Services members will vote and the lists will be narrowed down to the top 15 players. College soccer fans will also have the opportunity to participate in the selection process, by voting for their favorite semifinalist in November at the MAC Hermann Trophy website, managed by LockerDome.
From that pool of 15, six finalists will be chosen for the award and the winner will be announced in January.
Duke is coming off making its third NCAA College Cup appearance in school history in 2015. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Championship match before falling to Penn State, 1-0. In 2016, Duke will return 10-of-11 starters and welcome in the fourth-best recruiting class in the nation as head coach
Robbie Church enters his 16th season with the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils will open practice Aug. 3 and then will welcome Missouri to Koskinen Stadium Thursday, Aug. 11 for an exhibition match, before opening the regular season Friday, Aug. 19 in the UNC Nike Classic against Wofford.
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