Janos Loebe was a key figure in Fordham’s run to the NCAA D-I men’s quarterfinals last fall. (Photo courtesy of Fordham SID)
Five players with ties to the metropolitan area were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy men’s Watch List by United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club Thursday.
The players were:
* Marist University sophomore forward Allen Gavilanes (North Plainfield, N.J.)
* Army West Point junior defender Zac McGraw (Torrance, Calif.)
* Fordham University senior Janos Loebe (Kiersped, Germany)
* Rider University senior forward Elliott Otmani (La Ciotat, France)
* Loyola Maryland junior forward Brian Saramango (New Hyde Park, N.Y.)
Loebe was FrontRowSoccer.com’s 2017 men’s college player of the year.
Air Force senior Tucker Bone and Florida International senior Santiago Patino were MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists a year ago and they lead a group of 32 players on the men’s list. Ten of the 32 players were United Soccer Coaches All-Americans in 2017.
The MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists are compiled by members of the United Soccer Coaches Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I All-America Committees. Fifteen semifinalists will be named for both the men’s and women’s MAC Hermann Trophy near the end of the college season based on voting by NCAA Division I coaches and from those candidates, three finalists will be placed on the ballot for the award.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. This year’s winners will be announced at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
2018 Men’s MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
| Name | Yr. | Pos | School | Hometown |
| Joris Ahlinvi | Jr. | M | Florida International | Saint-Aubin des Bois, France |
| Mertcan Akar | Jr. | K | Old Dominion | Cologne, Germany |
| Nathan Aune | Sr. | D | Seattle | Arlington, Wash. |
| Jakov Basic | Sr. | M | Massachusetts-Lowell | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Tucker Bone* | Sr. | M | Air Force | Granite Bay, Calif. |
| Niklas Brodacki | Jr. | F | Central Arkansas | Norrkoping, Sweden |
| Antonio Bustamante | Sr. | M | William and Mary | Springfield, Va. |
| Drake Callender | Jr. | K | California | Fair Oaks, Calif. |
| Kyle Clinton | Jr. | D | Georgia State | Havant, England |
| Alex Cosmia | Sr. | D | North Carolina | Vancouver, B.C. |
| Mark Forrest | Sr. | F | Lehigh | Douglassville, Pa. |
| Allen Gavilanes | So. | F | Marist | North Plainfield, N.J. |
| Brandon Guhl | Jr. | F | Butler | Houston, Texas |
| Andrew Gutman | Sr. | D | Indiana | Hillsdale, Ill. |
| Jimmy Hague | Sr. | K | Michigan State | Walled Lake, Mich. |
| Jack Hallahan | Jr. | F | Michigan | Redditch, England |
| Erik Holt | Jr. | D | UCLA | San Diego, Calif. |
| Jean-Christoph Koffi | Sr. | M | Virginia | Potomac, Md. |
| Daniel Krutzen | Sr. | M | Albany | Lanaken, Belgium |
| Janos Loebe | Sr. | F | Fordham | Kierspe, Germany |
| Brendan McDonough | Sr. | D | Georgetown | Matthews, N.C. |
| Zac McGraw | Jr. | D | Army West Point | Torrance, Calif. |
| Garrett McLaughlin | Jr. | F | SMU | Edmond, Okla. |
| Benji Michel | Jr. | F | Portland | Orlando, Fla. |
| Rey Ortiz | Jr. | M | Portland | Acapulco, Mexico |
| Elliott Otmani | Sr. | F | Rider | La Ciotat, France |
| Santiago Patino* | Sr. | F | Florida International | Orlando, Fla. |
| Brian Saramago | Jr. | F | Loyola Maryland | New Hyde Park, N.Y. |
| Andrew Shinyashiki | Sr. | F | Denver | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Davis Smith | So. | F | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. |
| Jonny Sutherland | Sr. | K | Clemson | Chester, England |
| Faouzi Taieb | Jr. | D | UC Santa Barbara | Marseille, France |
