University Park, Pa. — Junior forward Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.), the nation’s leader in goals and points in 2010, has decided to forego his senior season at Penn State and sign a contract with Generation adidas. He will participate in the upcoming Major League Soccer Player Combine and will be available for selection by MLS teams in the 2011 SuperDraft.
Generation adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer. Players who join MLS as part of the Generation adidas program receive unprecedented opportunities to develop their game and hone their skills at the professional level. In addition to training and playing with one of Major League Soccer’s 18 professional clubs, Generation adidas players receive educational grants to further their college education. Last year’s class of Generation adidas players produced nine first round selections in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, including six of the top seven picks.
Hertzog will join fellow Penn State invitee Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at the 2011 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine, which is scheduled for Jan. 8-11 at Central Broward Regional Park in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The coaching and management staffs of all 18 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the combine, which concludes two days before the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. The draft will be held on Thurs., Jan. 13 in Baltimore, Md. at the Baltimore Convention Center. In 2010, Hertzog, an NSCAA First Team All-Region selection and Second Team All-American, emerged as the nation’s most dangerous striker on one of the NCAA’s top attacking units, putting together the most productive offensive season by a Nittany Lion in 55 years and one of the greatest in Big Ten history.
The Hermann Trophy semifinalist and unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection netted an NCAA-best 20 goals in 2010, the most by a Penn State player since all-time leading scorer and future Hermann Trophy winner Jim Stamatis equaled that mark in 1977. Hertzog’s 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 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.
Highlighting 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. His seven points rank him in a second place tie for the most in a single game in Big Ten history and he stands as the lone only player to make the top two on that list based on a NCAA Championship game performance. 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.
In recognition of his exceptional 2010 season, Hertzog was honored as the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year and was named First Team All-America by College Soccer News and a First Team MVP by Soccer America. 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.
Hertzog ranks 13th on Penn State’s career points list, totaling 80 points (33 goals, 14 assists) in three years (61 games).