2007 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. As selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Pos. Name Cl. School Hometown G Matt Allen Sr. Creighton Omaha, Neb. M Eric Avila Jr. UCSB Encinitas, Calif. D Rhett Bernstein Jr. Brown San Diego, Calif. D Eric Brunner Sr. Ohio State Dublin, Ohio F Byron Dacy Jr. Creighton Omaha, Neb. F Patrick Figueiredo Jr. Adelphi Compinas, Brazil F Kevin Forest Sr. Washington Edmonds, Wash. F Juan Gavaria Sr. St. Peter's Elizabeth, N.J. M Tom Gray Sr. Monmouth Middletown, N.J. M Bruno Guarda Jr. SMU Piracicaba, Brazil D David Horst Sr. Old Dominion Pine Grove, Pa. D Andy Iro Sr. UCSB Liverpool, England F Saidi Isaac Sr. Winthrop Eldoret, Kenya M Dejan Jakovic Jr. UAB Etobicoke, Ontario D Julius James Sr. Connecticut Maloney Gardens, Trinidad F George Josten Sr. Gonzaga Idaho Falls, Idaho M Stephen King Sr. Maryland Medford, N.J. F Joseph Lapira Sr. Notre Dame Lake Charles, La. M Peter Lowry Sr. Santa Clara Fair Oaks, Calif. M Travis MacKenzie Sr. Duquesne Carnegie, Pa. M Ryan Maduro Sr. Providence Bristol, R.I. F Patrick Nyarko Jr. Virginia Tech Kumasi, Ghana F Yannick Reyering Jr. Virginia Mettingen, Germany M David Roth Sr. Northwestern St. Louis, Mo. D Andre Sherard Sr. North Carolina Greenville, N.C. M Eric Sweetin Jr. Saint Louis Kansas City, Mo. D Julian Valentin Sr. Wake Forest Lancaster, Pa. D Rob Valentino Sr. San Francisco Cave Creek, Ariz. M Michael Videira Sr. Duke Milford, Mass. Discuss...
It's unusual to see this list without any Indiana players on it. I'm not saying I disagree, it's just weird. With that said, I think that Junior Midfielder Brad Ring will cause some damage this year and may find himself on the next list. I guess time will tell. Of the ones I've had the chance to see personally, these are my two favorites: F Joseph Lapira Sr. Notre Dame Lake Charles, La. M Michael Videira Sr. Duke Milford, Mass
Whats even weirder is there aren't any UCLA players on the list either. OH THE HORROR!! How can their be no UCLA or Indiana players on the list? HOW? I'll tell you how. It's due to racism!! Or maybe not.
Racism... communism... dogmatism... sectarianism... provincialism... totalitarianism... and just plain ol' unfairnessism! Don't mind me... I'm still pissed that Noonan was passed over for Alecko "does this helmet make me look fat" Eskandarian.
The biggest point to add to this discussion is that at this point last year when the MAC released their watch list, a kid named Joe Lapira wasn't on it. Anyone know what kind of season he had last year?
Well, when their best players keep going pro, it's hard to get them to win any awards that usually go to upperclassmen. I mean, has they stayed in school, Marvell Wynne and Kamani Hill would be seniors and Sal Zizzo would be a junior. I suspect if they were still in school they'd all be on the list. It should also be pointed out that in the long history of the MAC and Hermann awards, both pre and post merger, that the awards have serious anti-west coast bias. Conisder that despite all the talent to come out of the western schools, the only players from the west to win the awards are Brad Friedel (92) and Sasha Victorine (99) of UCLA and Manny Hernandez (1968) of San Jose State.
Eric Sweetin seems to be a mystery to me... If I am not mistaken he had less than 5 points last year. Very questionable decision to include him...
That's perfectly understandable. Sweetin's role for SLU isn't a scoring one. Sweetin wins an incredible amount of balls. I've been literally amazed time after time by what Sweetin gets done on the field. At 5' 5" he will win almost every head ball he challenges for and he challenges for a lot of head balls. At 135 pounds he wins 95% of his tackles and he steps into lots of tackles. His timing is world class. I shit you not. Sweetin makes superb decisions on the ball and he plays a very simple yet precise game. Scoring 4 or 5 goals and getting 5 or 6 assists would make Sweetin an All American.
Except for the fact that he had zero goals and zero assists as an attacking midfielder. Zero and Zero for zero points.
Except for the fact that he was not an attacking midfielder at all. Sweetin was/is more of a defensive stopper than anything else. I would categorize his position as a stopper/holding midfielder.
Grazier was a defensive mid his first two SLU seasons. Last year he played in front of Sweetin as a central mid and he was handed the keys to drive the central midfield engine. I don't consider Grazier to be an especially good offensive mid but that is what SLU wants out of him especially this season. Grazier has terrific holding and distribution skills but as of yet he really has been kind of shy about attacking the net. I believe Grazier has the ability to be a fine attacker but what he has been lacking so far has been the mentality to attack with extreme predjudice.
Whether Grazier or Sweetin were the ACM for SLU, and I wouldn't know I never saw them the last year, they combined for a 0 goals and 3 assists performance in the 2006 campaign. Sweetin, according to SLU's website, had 2 assists, while Grazier, who is not listed on the stats page, had 1 assist (according to his bio). Either way, statistically speaking, that shows a very unproductive central midfield for SLU. I still say, from a strictly statistical point of view, no goals and two assists in no way indicates one of the top players in the country... He was not even the best player on his team last year... Now maybe this is a bit of SLU favoritism and/or certain media outlets have a love affair with the kid, but for me, he would have to lead his team to the title in order to receive serious consideration for any major awards if he is going to go 0 and 2 next year... Let's see if SLU can even win a A10 Tourney title before we start talkin about the Dance...
Another curious omission is Xavier Balc from Ohio State. I wonder if defender Erik Brunner from Ohio State is a better player than Balc. Me thinks not... Calling Bill Archer. Mr Archer please pick up the courtesy phone.
You are looking at the the 2005 stats sheet. Grazier sat out the 2005 season. That being said in 2006 neither Grazier nor Sweetin played attacking mid. Both had more defensive midfield duties than offensive duties, Of the two Grazier got forward more often but Grazier was gettting forward in a supporting role. SLU's attack out of the midfield in 2006 came from the likes of DiRaimondo, (5 goals 5 assists) Hamzagic, (3 goals 2 assists) Patterson, (3 goals 2 assists) Hayes (4 goals) and sometimes Matteson (4 goals 4 assists). Bottom line is both Sweetin and Grazier are among the best central midfielders in D-1
Sam Cronin might be the best player in the ACC. Jules is fine and everything, but I think this is the second time in a row he's been on the watch list when he might be the third most important player on Wake's team after Cronin and Phelan. I'm happy for Jules, but Cronin continues to be the most underrated player in the conference, if not the country. Just watch a Wake game and see who runs the show. I think I get in this argument every year though, before I realize this list means nothing .
Sorry, 2006 SLU stats: Grazier: 0G, 1A Sweetin: 0G, 0A You can call them two of the best D1 center mids, but I am going to continue to contest that when they are underwhelming players on an underachieving team.