The University of Akron Athletics
Darren Mattocks Named Semifinalist for M.A.C. Hermann Trophy
December 06 | Men's Soccer
Darren Mattocks' Hermann Trophy Resume
AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron sophomore Darren Mattocks has been named one of 15 finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy. The Hermann Trophy is the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer and the official National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Player of the Year award for Division I competition.
Mattocks, the 2011 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, has the opportunity to become the third consecutive Hermann Trophy winner for UA, following Teal Bunbury in 2009 and Darlington Nagbe in 2010.
With 21 goals in 22 matches this season, Mattocks further established himself as one of the most dangerous finishers in the nation. Displaying a special ability to break open a game at any moment, Jamaican striker scored multiple goals in a game six times in 2011, including a pair of hat tricks at Tulsa (Sept. 24) and at Buffalo (Oct. 21).
Of his 21 goals, which matched the third-highest single-season total in school history, six were game-winners, including the decisive strike against SMU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Mattocks finished the year second in the nation in total goals and fourth in total points with 46 (21 G, 4 A).
It was a remarkable follow-up season to a first-year campaign that saw Mattocks record 18 goals as a true freshman. In total, Mattocks has found the net 39 times in 47 career matches in an Akron uniform and helped lead the Zips to the school's first team national championship in any sport in 2010.
Division I head coaches with current membership in the NSCAA will vote to determine the 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient. Three finalists for the award will be announced this Friday, Dec. 9th. They will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news conference Jan. 6, 2012, where the winner will be announced.
It is the fourth straight year the Zips have had least one player named to the Hermann Trophy semifinalist list. Steve Zakuani, who finished runner-up for the award, was the first to get the call under UA head coach Caleb Porter in 2008. Anthony Ampaipitakwong and Bunbury made the cut in 2009 while Nagbe and Kofi Sarkodie followed in 2010.
Akron became just the fifth school in the history of the men's player of the year award to record consecutive winners last season and the first since Virginia in 1995-96. Saint Louis won five straight honors from 1969-73.
2011 HERMANNN TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS
Ashton Bennett, Jr., F (Coastal Carolina)
Dom Dwyer, Jr., F (South Florida)
Ethan Finlay, Sr., F (Creighton)
Evans Frimpong, Sr., F (Delaware)
Chandler Hoffman, Jr., F (UCLA)
Brian Holt, Sr., GK (Creighton)
Enzo Martinez, Jr., M (North Carolina)
Darren Mattocks, So., F (Akron)
Billy Schuler, Jr., F (North Carolina)
Mark Sherrod, So., F (Memphis)
Luis Silva, Sr., M (UC Santa Barbara)
Yannick Smith, Jr., F (Old Dominion)
Casey Townsend, Sr., F (Maryland)
Andrew Wenger, Jr., F (Duke)
Gyasi Zardes, So., F (CSU Bakersfield)
