Jaelin Howell and Dante Polvara Awarded College Soccer’s Top Honor
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Jan. 7, 2022) – Florida State senior midfielder Jaelin Howell and Georgetown junior midfielder Dante Polvara were named the winners of the 2021 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy, presented by World Wide Technology, on Friday at the MAC’s annual banquet.
Howell (Lone Tree, Colo.) is earning college soccer’s top honor for the second year in a row after starting 23 games with the Noles, and notching three goals and four assists. Polvara (Pleasantville, N.Y.) started all 22 games for the Hoyas, tallying seven goals and six assists.
The MAC Hermann Trophy, a 10-pound crystal soccer ball awarded annually since 1967, honors the United Soccer Coaches National Players of the Year in NCAA Division I men’s and women’s soccer based on voting conducted by member coaches.
Howell was named ACC midfielder of the year for the second straight season. The Florida State team captain earned United Soccer Coaches All-America and TopDrawer Soccer Best XI First Team honors. She scored the game-winning goal in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and made her PK in the National Championship game, helping Florida State claim their third National Championship. Howell becomes the sixth player to repeat on the women’s side joining Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow, Christine Sinclair, Morgan Brian, and Catarina Macario. This year’s runners up for the women’s award were Brigham Young senior midfielder Mikayla Colohan (Kaysville, Utah) and Santa Clara senior forward Kelsey Turnbow (Scottsdale, Ariz.).
Polvara was named the Big East Conference Midfielder of the Year for the second straight season. The Hoyas team Captain was an All-Big East conference selection, United Soccer Coaches All-American, and recorded three game-winning goals this season. He was recently also named to the United Soccer Coaches Division I Scholar All-America first team as a Finance major at Georgetown. Runners-up for the men’s award were Clemson senior defender Oskar Ågren (Malmö, Sweden) and University of Washington senior forward Dylan Teves (Kailua, Hawai’i).