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Buchanan Back as Finalist for Hermann Trophy
December 14, 2016 01:57 PM | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the second straight season, West Virginia University senior defender Kadeisha Buchanan is a finalist for the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy.
The award is college soccer’s version of the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport.
A native of Brampton, Ontario, Buchanan, the program’s first finalist one season ago, is the only repeat finalist in 2016. The other two women’s finalists are USC senior midfielder Morgan Andrews and Stanford junior midfielder Andi Sullivan.
“Kadeisha continues to put herself in an elite status among collegiate players,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “Today’s repeat Hermann Trophy finalist nod speaks to her continuous hard work and the dedication she puts into the sport of soccer.
“I know winning the Hermann Trophy has been a goal of Kadeisha’s all year long. This is something she’s pushed herself toward, and winning this award would be a great way for her to end her collegiate career.”
The trophy has been awarded to a female collegiate soccer student-athlete each season since 1988, and Cat Reddick (North Carolina, 2003) is the only defender to win the trophy. Penn State’s Raquel Rodriguez won the 2015 award.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual intercollegiate award administered by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), and is presented annually at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. This year’s trophy presentation and banquet will take place on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.
A four-time NSCAA All-American, Buchanan anchored a Mountaineer defense that posted a nation- and program-best 18 shutouts this season en route to the NCAA College Cup Final. In the program’s first College Cup appearance, WVU finished second overall, falling 3-1 to USC in the final on Dec. 4.
Buchanan, the four-time reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, has collected a slew of postseason awards, including espnW and TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year honors. She also was named the Honda Sport Award winner for soccer and the 2016 NCAA Tournament Defensive MVP. A finalist for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award, she was named to the award’s All-America First Team.
The only WVU women’s soccer player to receive All-America honors in all four seasons in Morgantown, she also is a four-time All-Big 12 honoree and has won four Academic All-Big 12 awards, three Big 12 Tournament Defensive MVP honors and the 2015 Soccer News Net Women’s College Boot award.
A two-time team captain, she and the WVU defense allowed just 12 opponent goals this season. The Mountaineers did not allow a goal throughout the Big 12 Conference regular-season slate, becoming the first team in conference history to pitch a season shutout in league play. The defense held each Big 12 team but one to two shots or less on-goal en route to its fifth straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title. The Mountaineers also claimed the Big 12 Championship crown, sweeping the conference titles for the third time in five years. WVU finished with a program-record 23 victories.
Buchanan started 90-of-91 career matches, and the WVU backline allowed just 62 opponent goals and posted 55 shutouts since she joined the team in 2013. She tallied nine points (3 G, 3 A) in 2016, including an assist on the team’s game-winner in its 1-0 victory over Duke in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Buchanan posted 25 (8 G, 9 A) career points in four seasons.
A starter for the full Canadian National Team, Buchanan helped Canada claim the Bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games. The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Best Yong Player honoree, she also was named the 2015 BMO Canadian Player of the Year.
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