The Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the Big East’s Offensive Player of the Year and a current member of the U.S. Women’s National Team comprise the 2006 women’s finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer. The finalists were determined in voting by Division I women’s soccer coaches who are members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

North Carolina’s Yael Averbuch, Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks and North Carolina’s Heather O’Reilly are the three finalists for the award. The trio will be invited to the Busch Center on the campus of Saint Louis University on Saturday, Dec. 2, for a news conference where the winner of the award will be revealed. The announcement will be carried live on ESPNews (6:45 p.m. EST). A banquet at Saint Louis University that evening will feature the formal presentation of the prestigious crystal soccer ball trophy to the winner.

Averbuch, a sophomore midfielder from Upper Montclair, N.J., was named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 16 goals to top the Tar Heel scoring chart. She has six game-winning goals, also a team best. Averbuch was named ACC Player of the Week twice during the 2006 season. She established an NCAA women’s soccer record by scoring four seconds into a victory against Yale Sept. 3. Averbuch is a member of the U.S. Women’s U-20 National Team.

Hanks, a sophomore forward from Allen, Tex., was named the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year after leading the nation in scoring with 22 goals. Her 20 assists also are best in the nation. She already owns 32 different Notre Dame records. This season, Hanks became the first Irish player to reach 50 career goals prior to her junior season. In 2005, she was the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year and finished in the top 15 in M.A.C. Hermann Trophy voting.

O’Reilly, a senior forward from East Brunswick, N.J., has 10 goals and 14 assists this season, leading her team back to the College Cup while also earning her 47th cap for the U.S. Women’s National Team. The NSCAA National Player of the Week for Sept. 27, O’Reilly is a three-time All-ACC first-team selection. She was a M.A.C. Hermann Trophy finalist in 2004.

An exhibition featuring the current and past recipients of the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy is on display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. Some of the biggest names in soccer like Mia Hamm and Claudio Reyna have won the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. For a complete list of past M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winners, log on to www.mac-hermann-trophy.org.

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