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Three Penn State Soccer Stars Named To MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List

Three Nittany Lions were named to the annual MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list for men’s and women’s soccer on Thursday. The award is annually awarded to the best men’s and women’s college soccer players.

Sam Coffey and Ally Schlegel were included in the 54-player women’s list, while Liam Butts is one of 34 men to be selected.

Coffey enters the 2021 season in her second year at Penn State after transferring from Boston College. As a sophomore with the Eagles in 2018, Coffey was named a semifinalist for the award.

Now a senior, the New York native can play as either a midfielder or a forward. In 2019, Coffey scored 11 goals and 10 assists in 25 games to lead the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Coffey was drafted in the 2021 NWSL draft by the Portland Thorns with the No. 12 overall pick but has elected to stay in State College for the spring season.

Meanwhile, Coffey’s teammate, Schlegel, has a few years left to make an impact for Penn State.

Schlegel will lead the line at forward this season for Penn State, where she had a prolific campaign in 2019 that included 13 goals and seven assists. Together, Coffey and Schlegel are one of the most dynamic and feared attack partners in the nation.

On the men’s side, Liam Butts will enter his sophomore year as a reigning All-Big Ten firstteamer.

Also a forward, Butts tied with Aaron Molloy for the team record in goals last season with nine. Of his nine tallies, five were game-winners, the most of anyone in the Big Ten. The 6’1″ sophomore will be the focal point of the attack this campaign following Christian Sload’s departure.

Penn State has had some recent success with the MAC Hermann Trophy. Racquel Rodriguez was the last Nittany Lion to claim the award following the NCAA championship run in 2015.

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About the Author

Otis Lyons

Otis is a sophomore majoring in print journalism and is one of Onward State's associate editors. He lives just north of San Francisco, and is a diehard San Jose Earthquakes fan. Feel free to send over your soccer hot takes to his twitter @otisnlyons1 and instagram @otislyons

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