Aug. 19, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Returning finalist Lauren Cheney of UCLA and 2006 recipient Kerri Hanks of Notre Dame along with a trio of North Carolina Tar Heels highlight 47 of the best women's Division I intercollegiate soccer players that comprise the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List for 2008. UNC's representatives on the list include senior midfielder Yael Averbuch of Upper Montclair, N.J., who finished third in the 2006 voting, junior midfielder Tobin Heath of Basking Ridge, N.J., a member of the 2008 United States Olympic Team, and junior forward Casey Nogueira of Raleigh, N.C.

Cheney was one of three finalists for the award in 2007 after leading UCLA to an outstanding season. A member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, she is joined on the list by North Carolina's Tobin Heath, a teammate in Beijing. The first sophomore to win the award, Hanks has the opportunity to become the fourth player to win the Hermann Trophy twice, but the first to achieve the feat in non-consecutive years. The others who won it - Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow and Christine Sinclair - all did it in back-to-back fashion.

North Carolina is one of three teams that have three players on the list (including 2006 finalist Yael Averbuch), along with Penn State and reigning NCAA champion Southern Cal. Ten other schools have two players each on the list: Connecticut, Florida State, James Madison, Notre Dame, Portland, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, West Virginia and William and Mary.

Considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer, the recipients of the MAC's Hermann Trophy are selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. A list of 15 semifinalists is selected by a coaches committee in November, with three finalists announced in early December. They will invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo., for a news conference on Jan. 9, 2009, where the winner will be announced, with a presentation banquet following.