O'Reilly, Sinclair and Weimer chosen for invites to St. Louis

An Olympic gold medalist, the 2002 Women’s College Cup Most Valuable Player and the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the comprise the three finalists for the women’s 2004 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer. The finalists were determined in voting of Division I women’s soccer coaches who are members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

The University of North Carolina’s Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), the University of Portland’s Christine Sinclair (Burnaby, British Columbia) and Penn State University’s Tiffany Weimer (North Haven, Conn.) are the three finalists. They will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, for a news conference, where the winner of the coveted crystal soccer ball trophy will be revealed. A banquet at the Club that evening will feature the formal presentation of the award. She is the third Tar Heel to be named a Hermann Trophy finalist in the last two years, joining Olympic teammates Lindsay Tarpley and Cat Reddick, the 2003 Hermann Trophy winner.

A sophomore, O’Reilly jumped right back into collegiate play after returning from 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Although the youngest member of the U.S. team, she played a key role in its journey to the gold medal. She didn’t miss a beat on her return, scoring 13 goals and racking up 37 points to help the Tar Heels to an undefeated regular season.

Sinclair, a junior forward, led the Pilots with 22 goals and 55 points. After redshirting last season to play with the Canadian National Team in the Women’s World Cup, she returned to collegiate play and earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week three times this season. A member of the Canadian National Team since 2000, she was the offensive MVP of the 2002 Women’s College Cup, scoring the overtime goal that gave Portland its first national title. She is a three-time NSCAA/adidas All-America.

Weimer, also a junior forward, ranked among the national leaders with 26 goals and 64 points this season. She led the Nittany Lions to their seventh consecutive Big Ten regular season championship. Named the Big Ten Player of the Week six times this season, she earned the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award. She is the third Penn State player to make the trip to St. Louis, joining former teammate Joanna Lohman, who was a finalist in 2003, and Christie Welsh, who won the award in 2001.

The NSCAA is the Official Voting Body for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy.

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