Virginia's Alecko Eskandarian and Kyle Martino Named 2001 Hermann Trophy Award Candidates

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Aug. 16, 2001

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia men’s soccer players Alecko Eskandarian (Montvale, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and Kyle Martino (Westport, Conn./Staples) were two of 13 player announced by the Hermann Foundation and TEAMtalk, Inc., as candidates for the 2001 Hermann Trophy Award – college soccer’s oldest and most prestigious player of the year award. The Hermann Trophy, college soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in college football, has been given annually since 1967 to the nation’s best male college soccer player. The Hermann Trophy is named for Robert R. Hermann, the former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the old North American Soccer League and one of the ground-breaking league’s founders.

Eskandarian, a sophomore forward at UVa, recorded 1,858 minutes of playing time after starting 22 of the 24 games he appeared in during the 2000 season. He posted team-highs at Virginia with 38 points, 16 goals and six assists, with four of his goals and three of his assists being game-winners. Eskandarian was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and was a First Team All-ACC selection last year. He was selected as the ACC Player of the Week (9/4/00) after he scored three goals and recorded one assist (seven points) in his first two collegiate games as a Cavalier. Eskandarian was named the 2000 Freshman of the Year and was a Third Team All-America selection by Soccer America. He was also selected to the Soccer America Team of the Week (9/13/00). Eskandarian was named to the NSCAA/adidas First Team All-South Atlantic Region squad and was named the Player of the Year in the state of Virginia and a First Team All-State selection by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID).

After scoring his 16th goal of the season against Lehigh in UVa’s 5-0 victory over the Mountain Hawks in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship, Eskandarian became Virginia’s all-time leader in points scored by a freshman (38) and broke current head coach George Gelnovatch’s school record record of 37 points scored by a UVa freshman. His 16 goals also tied Gelnovatch’s record mark of 16 goals scored in a single season as a freshman at Virginia. Eskandarian was a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team.

Martino, a junior midfielder at UVa, was one of 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy last season. He recorded 1,647 minutes of playing time after starting all 22 games he appeared in during the 2000 season. Martino scored 14 points resulting from a team-high six assists and four goals. He was a First Team All-ACC selection and was an ACC All-Tournament team choice. Martino was named Second Team All-American by Soccer America and was chosen to Soccer America’s Team of the Week (9/ 6/00). He was a First Team All-State selection by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) and was named to the NSCAA/adidas First Team All-South Atlantic Region team. Martino was selected as the Virginia Soccer Classic All-Tournament MVP after he recorded two assists and a goal to guide Virginia to a 2-0 record and tournament title.

For his career, Martino has started all 45 games he has appeared in and has recorded 35 points on 13 assists and 11 goals. Four of his goals and three of his assists were game-winners. Martino has played 3,618 minutes in his career at Virginia and was also a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team.

The other men’s candidates are: the University of Connecticut’s Chris Gbandi, Indiana’s Pat Noonan, SMU’s Mohamed Fahim and Carl Bussey, Penn State’s Ricardo Villar, Saint Louis’ Brad Davis, Clemson’s Oguchi Onyewu, Stanford’s Lee Morrison, Bradley’s Gavin Glinton, Furman’s John Barry Nusum, and UCLA’s Alex Yi.

The candidates were chosen by a ballot of Division I college coaches and selected media. In a twist added to the selection process this year, two spots on the final ballot will remain open until Oct. 1. At that time, a poll of coaches and media will be conducted to add the final two names to each of the 15-player ballots before the final voting is conducted. This is to ensure that any player having a stellar season will be eligible to win the prestigious player of the year award.

Final ballots will be distributed to all Division I college coaches, tabulated, and three finalists will be announced on Dec. 1st. The winners of the 2001 Hermann Trophy will be announced at the College Cup on Dec. 15th in Columbus, Ohio.

2001 Men Hermann Award Candidates

Name			School			YearAlecko Eskandarian 	Virginia		Soph.Kyle Martino		Virginia		Jr.Carl Bussey		Southern Methodist 	Sr.Brad Davis		Saint Louis 		Soph.Mohamed Fahim		Southern Methodist 	Sr.Chris Gbandi		Connecticut		Sr.Gavin Glinton		Bradley			Sr.Lee Morrison		Stanford		Sr.Pat Noonan		Indiana			Jr.John Barry Nusum	Furman			Sr.Oguchi Onyewu		Clemson			Soph.Ricardo Villar		Penn State		Sr.Alex Yi			UCLA			Soph.

— UVa —