STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford senior defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce is one of three men's finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy, United Soccer Coaches announced Friday.
Hilliard-Arce, from Matthews, N.C., is a finalist along with Wake Forest senior forward John Bakero (Stiges, Spain) and Indiana senior defender Grant Lillard (Hinsdale, Ill.). Stanford's Andi Sullivan is also one of three finalists on the women's side.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual intercollegiate award administered by United Soccer Coaches, and presented annually at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. This year's trophy presentation and banquet will take place Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Jordan Morris is Stanford's only previous male winner of the Hermann Trophy. He collected the coveted honor following the 2015 season.
One of three two-time, first-team All-Americans in program history along with Morris and Brandon Vincent, Hilliard-Arce has led the Cardinal to its third straight College Cup where it will face Akron at Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa. tonight in a national semifinal at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Since his freshman season, Stanford has won a pair of national championships, four Pac-12 titles and is the country's winningest program, sporting an overall record of 63-10-13 (.808).
A two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Hilliard-Arce has championed a Cardinal defense that has posted 45 shutouts among his 85 career appearances at center back. Stanford has a 0.61 team goals against average since 2014, finished in the top 10 nationally that category the past two years and is currently second this season (0.42). The Cardinal is in the midst of an NCAA-record run of 10 consecutive postseason shutouts spanning 1,022:17 of match time. A force on set pieces, Hilliard-Arce also has 13 career goals and five assists, including four goals and three assists this season.
Stanford, one of six programs to win back-to-back national championships, is attempting to become just the second program to win three straight NCAA titles (Virginia; 1991-94).
