Aug. 13, 2012
ST. LOUIS, MO-- All-American forward Yannick Smith (Hillsborough, NJ.) and All-Region goalkeeper Victor Francoz (France) of the 23rd ranked ODU Soccer Monarchs are among 42 players selected to the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch Lists for 2012. The MAC Hermann trophy is the highest Individual award in intercollegiate soccer presented annually in January at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Smith was a semi-finalist last year.
Smith was part of the Monarchs strong offense that ranked second nationally in goal scoring, averaging 2.4 goals per game last season. Smith, a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy led the CAA in goals with 16 and scoring with 34 total points. The first team All-CAA forward ranked 12th nationally in scoring and ninth in goals. Smith was named third-team All-American by the NSCAA and College Soccer News. He was named first team All-South Atlantic region, and VASID Soccer Player of the Year.
Senior goalkeeper Victor Francoz registered six shutouts along with a 1.38 goals against average and a .754 save percentage. Francoz was a second team All-CAA selection, and ranked 24th nationally with 86 total saves. He was a first team All-Region selection.
Each list will be narrowed down by NSCAA members from Division I programs to 15 semifinalists by November 29. Member coaches and fans will then vote for their top three choices and the finalists will be announced December 6. The winners will be announced at the awards' banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 11.
Iona leads the men's Watch List with four players. Connecticut, Coastal Carolina, Memphis, Old Dominion, Furman, Maryland and New Mexico each have two players on the list.
The men's list also includes four 2011 semifinalists: senior forward Ashton Bennett (Coastal Carolina/Claredon, Jamaica), junior forward Mark Sherrod (Memphis/Knoxville, Tenn.), senior forward Yannick Smith (Old Dominion/Hillsborough, N.J.), and junior forward Gyasi Zardes (CSU Bakersfield/Hawthorne, Calif.).
The 23rd ranked Monarchs travel to Georgetown Tuesday for a 4 p.m. exhibition match in Washington, DC.