WASHINGTON – Georgetown University senior defender
Dylan Nealis was one of three men's soccer standouts that were named finalists for Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy, the country's top college soccer honor, on Thursday.
The MAC Hermann Trophy, presented by World Wide Technology, is the most coveted individual honor in NCAA Division I soccer and has been awarded annually since 1967. The 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy banquet will be held at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Jan. 3, 2020 to formally announce this year's winners.
Nealis is the reigning two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-BIG EAST honoree. He was also named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team this season and has earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors three times in 2019.
The defender has started all 22 games for the Blue & Gray and ranks fifth on the team in scoring with four goals and five assists for 13 points on the year. The GU defense has 12 shutouts on the year. As a team, Georgetown is 18-1-3 and won the BIG EAST Regular Season as well as the BIG EAST Championship for the third consecutive year.
In his career, the Massapequa, New York native has started in 74 of 76 games played and has seven goals and 14 assists for 28 points. The team has earned three NCAA Tournament berths advancing to the Round of 16 twice, the quarterfinals once and now the College Cup.
Nealis now joins Brandon Allen as just the second Hoya in program history to be named a MAC Hermann finalist. As a semifinalist, he was just the fifth for the Blue & Gray with Allen earning the honor in 2015, Joshua Yaro being named in 2014 and Steve Neumann as a two-time honoree in both 2012 and 2013.
The two-time team captain was the only player from the BIG EAST Conference to earn a spot on the prestigious list as he was joined by Joe Bell of Virginia and Robbie Robinson of Clemson.
Third-seeded Georgetown has advanced to the 2019 College Cup and will face seventh-seeded Stanford on Friday evening in Cary, North Carolina at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Tickets can be purchased through GUHoyas.com.
