Aug. 21, 2000

College Park, Md. - Junior co-captain Nick Downing (Redmond, Wash.) has been named as one of the finalists for college soccer's most prestigious honor, the Hermann Trophy, as announced today by the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Downing, a two-year starter on defense for the 16th-ranked Terrapins, was also a finalist for the award his sophomore year.

A selection board comprised of college coaches from each region of the country participated in picking the finalists, who will now be listed on official ballots that will go out to all coaches and selected media on Oct. 15. A write-in allowance is included on final ballots, which will be due Monday, Nov. 27. The winners of the 2000 Hermann Trophy will be announced Saturday, Dec. 9 at a reception ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., in conjunction with the Men's 2000 College Cup.

Downing is one of four ACC players up for the Hermann Trophy, which is regarded as the Heisman Trophy of collegiate soccer. Ali Curtis from Duke, the 1999 Hermann Trophy winner, Kyle Martino from Virginia and Ryan Trout, also from Virginia, round out the conference's nominees. The ACC had more student athletes nominated for the award than any other conference. The Big Ten was next in line with three nominees.

Downing has also been named a 2000 preseason College Soccer Online All-American and finished the 1999 season with six assists, including a three-assist performance against American in the Terps' 4-1 win. He was also a second-team All South Atlantic Region selection.

The Hermann Trophy is named after Robert R. Hermann, founding Chairman of the North American Soccer League. The first Hermann was presented in 1967 to Dov Marcus of Long Island University. Other past male winners include US National Team members Claudio Reyna, Tony Meola, and Brad Freidel. The Hermann Trophy is also presented to the top collegiate woman soccer player in the country. North Carolina leads the list of female nominees with three.

2000 Male Hermann Trophy Finalists
Carl Bussey      	Southern Methodist
Conor Casey     	Portland
Ali Curtis      	Duke
Nick Downing	        Maryland
Mohamed Fahim   	Southern Methodist
Chris Gbandi     	Connecticut
T.J. Hannig     	Indiana
Ryan Mack       	Indiana
Kyle Martino    	Virginia
Lee Morrison    	Stanford
Brent Rahim     	Connecticut
McKinley Tennyson 	UCLA
Ryan Trout	        Virginia
Ricardo Villar   	Penn State