BIG EAST Soccer Represented On MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
Creighton’s Ricky Lopez-Espin, Xavier’s Cory Brown, DePaul’s Alexa Ben and Georgetown’s Rachel Corboz named to the watch list for college soccer’s top individual honor.
NEW YORK – The Missouri Athletic Club announced the 61 NCAA Division I players named to the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List with two BIG EAST men and two BIG EAST women making the cut. On the men’s side, Creighton senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin was joined by Xavier senior defender Cory Brown, while the women were represented by a pair of senior midfielders in DePaul’s Alexa Ben and Georgetown’s Rachel Corboz.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. This year’s winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
A forward from Miami, Fla., Lopez-Espin tied for the team-lead with 10 goals during the 2016 season and paced the Bluejays with 22 points. His efforts earned him a spot on the 2016 NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team as a forward. Lopez-Espin also made the 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team and the BIG EAST All-Tournament team. The forward scored five goals during nine BIG EAST regular-season matches and had two during three BIG EAST postseason contests. The Shattuck-St. Mary's (Minn.) product owns 18 career goals during 56 matches played, including 43 starts.
Lopez-Espin is the first Bluejay named to the watch list since Fabian Herbers and Timo Pitter were on the list prior to the 2015 season. Herbers and Pitter were each named semifinalists before Herbers finished runner-up in the final voting.
Brown’s Missouri Athletic Club recognition is the second of his career and the fourth time a Xavier player has been selected to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Brown was also listed in 2015, while Nick Hagglund – a former BIG EAST Defender of the Year and current Toronto FC defender – was selected to the list in 2012 and 2013. Brown started all 19 matches for XU in 2016, registering three points (one goal, one assist) and playing every available minute in 17 of 19 matches. He anchored the backline in five shutouts, ranked second on the team with 1,771 minutes played and was named the program's second BIG EAST Defender of the Year.
For his career, Brown has made 60 starts and helped XU post two of the top three team GAA's in program history (2014, 2015). During his three seasons manning the center back position, XU has posted 25 shutouts (including a program-record 11 in 2014).
Ben, who is the 2014 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, 2016 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, and two-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection, finished 2016 with seven goals and three assists (17 points), compiling five goals and one assist in BIG EAST play. The Schaumburg, Ill., native was also recently recognized by the NCAA as a “Name to Know” for the 2017 season.
Corboz helped to lead Georgetown to its most successful season in program history in 2016, with 20 wins, the BIG EAST Tournament Championship and a run to the NCAA College Cup. She was named a First Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches (formerly the National Soccer Coaches Association of America), her second national honor after being selected to the third team in 2015.
Corboz, who was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team for the second-straight year and was selected as one of 15 semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, led the team in scoring with 38 points. She was second on the team in goals scored (11) and led the team in assists (16). Corboz led the country with 16 assists, was tied for No. 12 in the country in total points (38) and No. 26 in points per game (1.65).
For more information, visit: http://www.machermanntrophy.org/