UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State women’s soccer junior midfielder Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) was honored by three separate national entities on Tuesday (Aug. 16) and Wednesday (Aug. 17). Nairn is featured on the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List as well as Soccer America’s Preseason All-America roster and TopDrawerSoccer.com’s Top 100 Upperclassmen.
The Hermann Trophy Watch List honor is Nairn’s second consecutive. The left-footed midfielder is the lone PSU representative on the list for soccer’s most prestigious award given to the top male and female student-athlete every season. The Hermann Trophy is akin to football’s Heisman Trophy and is awarded by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Christie Welsh is Penn State’s only winner (2001).
Nairn was also tabbed a Preseason All-America by Soccer America early Wednesday morning, the second such year she earned the honor. An NSCAA Second Team All-American and First Team All-Great Lakes honoree in 2010 as a sophomore, Nairn looks to lead the Nittany Lions to a 14th straight Big Ten title in 2011.
The junior was rated in the Top 100 Upperclassmen by TopDrawerSoccer.com on Tuesday joined by redshirt-sophomore Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii). Nairn was ranked 12th amongst all upperclassmen in the nation, while Costa was 75th. Costa led Penn State in scoring last season with nine goals and 23 points. Nairn was the highest rated Big Ten student-athlete by the online publication, which ranked PSU 24th entering the 2011 campaign.
Nairn and Costa head to Palo Alto, Calif. as Penn State takes on No. 2 Stanford this Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET. The Nittany Lions’ California trip concludes Sunday with a neutral-site meeting against Nevada at 2:00 p.m. ET in Saratoga, Calif. That game will be played at West Valley College.