The 25 players included in the 2006 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch List for men’s intercollegiate soccer are a diverse group just about any way you cut it. The list, announced by the Missouri Athletic Club, was compiled by a panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

With key players leaving school early to compete professionally, either in Major League Soccer or overseas, the talent is spread geographically, by position and by class. There are 13 seniors, nine juniors and three sophomores on this year’s list, and only three schools (Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina-Greensboro) have two players on the list.

Clemson is represented by senior goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi (Manalapan, N.J.) and senior forward Dane Richards (Montego Bay, Jamaica), who was the NSCAA/adidas Junior College Division I Player of the Year in 2004. North Carolina, which is tied with Clemson for No. 5 in the NSCAA/adidas Division I pre-season rankings, placed senior defender Michael Harrington (Greenville, N.C.) and senior goalkeeper Justin Hughes (Wake Forest, N.C.) on the list, while UNC-Greensboro, pegged at No. 21 in the pre-season poll, is represented by senior midfielder Scott Jones (Dallas, Texas) and senior forward Randi Patterson (Hackensack, N.J.).

Patterson is one of three players on the list who were among the 15 semifinalists for the award last fall. He is joined by junior midfielders Greg Dalby (Poway, Calif.) of Notre Dame and Michael Videira (Milford, Mass.) of Duke.

The winner of the M.A.C.’s Hermann Trophy will be determined in voting by NSCAA Division I member coaches. A list of 15 semifinalists will be announced in early November, with three finalists announced in late November. They will be invited to St. Louis on Saturday, Dec. 2, for the announcement of the winner at a press conference to be held in conjunction with the Men’s College Cup. Both the men’s and women’s winners will be presented the prestigious crystal soccer ball trophy at a banquet later that evening.

An exhibition featuring the current winners and past winners of the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy is on display at the National Soccer Museum in Oneonta, N.Y.

Men’s 2006 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List
Compiled by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America

Player, Position, Class, School, Hometown
Ryan Anderson, F, Jr., Missouri State, St. Charles, Mo.
Andrew Boyens, D, Sr., New Mexico, Dunedin, New Zealand
Byron Dacy, F, So., Creighton, Omaha, Neb.
Gregory Dalby, M, Sr., Notre Dame, Poway, Calif.
Charlie Davies, F, Jr., Boston College, Manchester, N.H.
John DiRaimondo, M, Sr., Saint Louis, St. Louis, Mo.
Willy Guadarrama, F, Jr., Campbell, Cedar Park, Texas
Tally Hall, K, Jr., San Diego State, Gig Harbor, Wash.
Michael Harrington, D, Sr., North Carolina, Greenville, N.C.
Rodrigo Hidalgo, F, Jr., South Florida, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Justin Hughes, K, Sr., North Carolina, Wake Forest, N.C.
Andy Iro, D, Jr., UC-Santa Barbara, Liverpool, England
Julius James, D, Jr., Connecticut, Maloney Gardens, Trinidad
Scott Jones, M, Sr., UNC-Greensboro, Dallas, Texas
Stephen King, M, Jr., Maryland, Medford, N.J.
Phil Marfuggi, K, Sr., Clemson, Manalapan, N.J.
Jay Needham, D, Sr., SMU, Fort Worth, Texas
Josh Tudela, M, Sr., Indiana, Evansville, Ind.
Simon Omekanda, F, Sr., Penn State, Rochester Hills, Mich.
Randi Patterson, F, Sr., UNC-Greensboro, Hackensack, N.J.
Yannick Reyering , F, So., Virginia, Mettingen, Germany
Dane Richards, F, Sr., Clemson, Montego Bay, Jamaica
Sinisa Ubiparipovic, F, Sr., Akron, Mentor, Ohio
Michael Videira, M, Jr., Duke, Milford, Mass.
Sal Zizzo, M, So., UCLA, San Diego, Calif.

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