Aug. 8, 2017
2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State men's soccer midfielder Pablo Pelaez (San Diego, Calif.) was named to the 2017 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List on Tuesday. The most prestigious individual honor in college soccer, Pelaez was one of three Pac-12 student-athletes selected to the 31-player men's watch list and one of just four sophomores.
Pelaez made a tremendous impact as a redshirt freshman in 2016, becoming the first Aztec since 2011 to receive first-team all-Far West Region recognition from United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA). In addition, the San Diego native garnered second-team all-Pac-12 accolades and earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman Best XI second-team list before collecting second-team all-freshman honors from College Soccer News.
Pelaez started all 18 matches he appeared in last year, compiling seven points on two goals and three assists. He scored the game-winning tally in the Aztecs' 1-0 victory over then-No. 11 Washington last November, helping the Scarlet and Black complete its first-ever regular-season sweep of the Huskies.
A total of 15 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists will be revealed on Nov. 29, determined by All-America voting conducted by NCAA Division I men's soccer coaches with oversight from the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's Senior College All-America Committee. Shortly thereafter, three finalists will be named in early December, while the winner is scheduled to be announced at the Missouri Athletic Club banquet in St. Louis on Jan. 5, 2018.
Four Aztecs - Chris Keenan (1987), Marcelo Balboa (1988, 1989) and Kyle Whittemore (1988) - have been named Hermann Trophy finalists, while Tally Hall was a semifinalist in 2006.
San Diego State opens its 2017 campaign when it faces Cal Poly Pomona in an exhibition match on Friday, Aug. 18, starting at 7 p.m. PT atop SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs commence their regular-season slate the following week when they travel to the East Coast to battle Army (Aug. 25) and Vermont (Aug. 27) in West Point, New York.