University Park, Pa. — Penn State junior forward Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.) has been named a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in intercollegiate soccer.
In 2010, Hertzog burst onto the national scene by putting together the most prolific offensive season by a Nittany Lion in 55 years and one of the greatest in Big Ten history.
Hertzog netted an NCAA-best 20 goals this year, the most by a Penn State player since all-time leading scorer and future Hermann Trophy winner Jim Stamatis equaled that mark in 1977. His goal total also ranks him fourth in the program record book behind only Bill Fiedler (21, 1957), Jack Pinezich (23, 1952), and Dick Packer (24, 1955) and positions him in a first place tie for the most goals in a single season in Big Ten history with Indiana’s Dema Kovalenko (1997) and Aleksey Korol (1999). With 13 career game winning goals, including a Big Ten-leading six this season, the second consecutive year in which he reached that mark, Hertzog resides in eighth place on the Big Ten’s all-time list.
With 46 points, Hertzog sits in second place in the Penn State and Big Ten season points rankings, trailing only Packer (50, 1955) and Korol (50, 1999), respectively. In 2010, he also established himself as the all-time Penn State record holder for shots in a season, totaling 115, shattering Stamatis’ 33-year old mark of 95.
Hertzog, who has totaled 80 points (33 goals, 14 assists) in three years (61 games), good enough for 13th on Penn State’s career list, currently leads the nation in three major offensive statistical categories, points per game (2.09), total points (46), and total goals (20).
In recognition of his exception 2010 season, Hertzog was honored as the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year and was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection. During the season, he earned three national player of the week awards and was selected to six national teams of the week. Hertzog was also recognized as the MVP of the Wolstein Classic and on the Big Ten Tournament All-Tournament team.
Hghlighting Hertzog’s season were several standout efforts. In a decisive 4-1 win over Old Dominion in a second round contest of the 2010 NCAA Championship, he totaled three goals, the second hat trick of his career, and one assist to lead the Nittany Lions to the program’s first NCAA postseason victory since 2005. Versus Binghamton, Hertzog totaled six points, scoring two goals, including a 45-yard game-winning bomb, and tallying two assists to spark Penn State in a non-conference victory. His game winner in a 2-1 upset of No. 18 Michigan State helped the Nittany Lions gain its first Big Ten triumph of the season. During the heart of the season, he caught fire, scoring at least one goal in 10 of 11 games.
Head coaches of Division I programs with current membership in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will vote to determine the 2010 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient. Three finalists for the award will be announced on Fri., Dec. 10. They will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news conference on Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at which time the winner will be announced. A dinner and formal presentation of the award will follow the news conference that evening.
Hertzog, along with senior midfielder Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), who broke the Penn State and Big Ten single season assists record with 17 this year, are also nominees for the 2010 Soccer News Net Men’s College Player of the Year. Fans, whose votes account for 40 percent in determining the winner of the award, can cast their ballot daily until Dec. 23 by visiting Soccer News Net’s online ballot.