Aug. 11, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kentucky senior defender Barry Rice, a two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, has been named to the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced Tuesday morning.
Rice, a 5-foot-11 senior, was named to the team for the second consecutive year in the preseason. A 2008 second-team All-America selection by CollegeSoccerNews.com, Rice became the first player in conference history to win C-USA Defensive Player of the year in consecutive seasons. A 2007-08 first-team All-Conference USA selection, Rice helped lead UK to 12 wins and a No. 21 national ranking last season.
Rice was among the initial listing of 38 collegiate players tabbed for the top individual honor in soccer. Last season, Wake Forest’s Marcus Tracy won the Hermann Trophy after a 13-goal, 10-assist season.
“Barry has proven himself to be one of the top players in college soccer and I am excited to see him perform this year,” UK head coach Ian Collins said. “He is surrounded by many other quality players and we are anxious to get the season going and test ourselves.”
A native of Parma, Ohio, Rice played and started 21 games in 2008, notching two goals and one assist, while leading the club with 33 shots. A physical and athletic player, Rice had an excellent offensive season in 2007, when the UK attack was depleted by injuries. Rice totaled a team-high seven goals in 2007, with six coming on headers off corner kicks. A 2006 C-USA All-Freshman Team selection, Rice totaled five assists and one goal in 21 games as a freshman.
A force in the air, Rice necessitated the keeping of a stat to track the percentage of contested headers won vs. contested headers lost. In 21 games during the 2008 season, Rice won 189-of-218 contested header attempts on the year, an 87-percent clip.
UK opens its 2009 season with a pair of exhibition games, beginning Monday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. ET with Dayton at the UK Soccer Complex. Kentucky kicks off its 2009 regular season with the annual University of Kentucky Invitational, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m., hosting IUPUI.
Considered the highest individual honor in college soccer, the recipients of the Hermann Trophy are selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the NSCAA. The 38 players on the watch list will be narrowed down to 15 semifinalists in November, and the three finalists will be selected in early December. The winner of the Hermann Trophy will be announced Jan. 8, 2010, in St. Louis.
2009 Hermann Trophy Watch List
Andre Akpan, Harvard
Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Akron
Ben Arikian, Massachusetts
Rafael Baca, Loyola Marymount
Phil Bannister, Loyola (Md.)
Chase Barbiere, Monmouth
Mark Blades, Northwestern
Corben Bone, Wake Forest
Jovan Bubonja, Illinois-Chicago
Devan Carroll, UNC Wilmington
Conor Chinn, San Francisco
Byron Dacy, Creighton
Jamie Darvill, Loyola (Md.)
Two-Boys Gumede, UAB
Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s
Ryan Kinne, Monmouth
Samson Malijani, Fairleigh Dickinson
Jimmy Maurer, South Carolina
Ashley McInnes, Tulsa
Tennant McVea, Loyola (Md.)
Kyle Nakazawa, UCLA
J.T. Noone, Temple
Conor O’Brien, Bucknell
Ike Opara, Wake Forest
Barry Rice, Kentucky
Joe Salem, Tulsa
Chris Schuler, Creighton
Kevin Shrout, Drake
Patrick Sigler, Cal Poly
Seth Sinovic, Creighton
Andy Stadler, George Washington
Toni Stahl, Connecticut
Michael Stephens, UCLA
Tony Tchani, Virginia
Bobby Warshaw, Stanford
Garrett Webb, Drake
Alex Weekes, Colgate
Andrew Wiedeman, California-Berkeley
