CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Victoria Safradin, a fourth-year goalkeeper on the Virginia women’s soccer team, was named to the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Midseason List it was announced by the IWSOC and United Soccer Coaches on Wednesday (September 30).
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club and is the nation's highest individual honor, recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by a vote of Division I head coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. The award is named in honor of the late Robert Hermann, the St. Louis, Mo., businessman and soccer executive who founded the National Professional Soccer League — the first professional soccer league in the United States, which later became the North American Soccer League. Hermann was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
The 2026 mid-season watch list was compiled by members of the Division I Women's All-America Committee from a pool of the top-performing players of the first half of the 2026 season. The list was narrowed from 62 players on the preseason watch list to 30.
This season, Safradin is 5-2-2 with a .708 save percentage and an .824 goal against average as she has posted three clean sheets for the Hoos. She ranks top five in the ACC in goal against average and shutouts as the Cavaliers have played the nation’s toughest schedule to date.
Safradin was named an All-Region selection last season after posting a 13-3-5 record with 11 shutouts for the Cavaliers in 2025. She helped Virginia to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as the Hoos advanced to the Round of 16. She made a critical save in penalty shootouts at Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals to send the Cavaliers into the tournament semifinals. She earned All-ACC honors from the league’s coaches last season.
Safradin and the Cavaliers return to action on Saturday (Oct. 3) when Virginia hosts Syracuse in a 7 p.m. contest at Klöckner Stadium for Senior Night.