KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Senior midfielder Raquel Rodriguez has been named a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) announced Friday afternoon. Rodriguez joins West Virginia’s Kadeisha Buchanan and Virginia's Emily Sonnet as the three finalists.
Including Rodriguez, Penn State has had six Nittany Lions named as a finalist for the prestigious award on nine occasions. Christine Nairn was the last finalist for the Nittany Lions (2012) and Christie Welsh is Penn State’s lone MAC Hermann Trophy winner (2001).
This season Rodriguez started all 27 matches in the Nittany Lion midfield and tallied 18 points, which included six goals and six assists.
She capped off her Nittany Lion career on the field as she scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over the Duke Blue Devils in the 2015 Women’s College Cup Final. Her goal in the College Cup Final was the 23rd of her career and her ninth career game-winning goal.
She also scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back matches this season for the Blue and White (Oct. 11 – Indiana and Oct. 15 – Purdue). Out of the 27 matches in 2015, Rodriguez played the full-time nine times, including a 0-0 draw against then-No. 21 Duke in late August.
In 2015, Rodriguez brought home NSCAA All-America First Team and All-Great Lakes First Team honors, All-Big Ten First Team plaudits, and for her performance in the Women’s College Cup she was named to the All-Tournament Team and the Most Outstanding Player on Offense.
The 2015 year has been a banner year for Rodriguez as she scored the first World Cup goal for the Costa Rican national team in Costa Rica’s World Cup debut on June 9 against Spain. She also made Penn State history by becoming the first Nittany Lion to score in a World Cup, and earned LYG Player of the Match honors.
Not only did Rodriguez excel on the pitch, she also succeeded in the classroom. For her hard work in the classroom, Rodriguez was named to the 2015 College Sports Information of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Two first team.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is collegiate soccer's most prestigious award, presented annually to one male and one female athlete. The winners will be named on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 at the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo.