Already touted as one of the top players in the Southeastern Conference, Auburn’s Katy Frierson has been recognized as one of the top players in the nation for the upcoming soccer season, as she was placed on the prestigious 2010 Hermann Trophy Watch List.

Given to the top player in the nation by the Missouri Athletic Club, she is the first player from Auburn to be placed on the initial Watch List.

“We are obviously thrilled to have Katy placed on the Hermann Watch List,” Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. “It is a testament not only to her ability but also to her work rate and what she has done so far at Auburn. It’s also a great testament to our program. It’s great to see an Auburn player recognized in this way.”

A junior midfielder from Homewood, Frierson has more than lived up to the hype that surrounded her when she signed with Auburn out of Homewood High School and the BUSA 90 club program. In just two seasons she has already shown that she is one of the top playmaking midfielders to ever don an Auburn uniform as she ranks seventh in school history in assists for a career (17) and is just outside the top 10 for career goals (14) and points (45).

“This is a huge honor,” Frierson said. “It’s just speculation at the beginning of the year (as to who the best players in the country are), but It says a lot about how well our team has been doing and the expectations that the team has for this season.”

The No. 7-ranked recruit in the nation by SoccerBuzz when she signed with Auburn, she has been named the 2008 SEC Freshman of the Year, been a First Team All-SEC selection as both a freshman and sophomore, was a SoccerBuz Freshman All-American and a member of the Soccer America All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore, she was named to the NSCAA All-South Region First Team as she led the team with 10 assists and 20 points, helping Auburn to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a berth in the SEC Tournament semifinals, Auburn’s first since 2005.

“Katy has exceeded the expectations that we had for her coming in as one of the top recruits in the country,” Hoppa said. “She came in immediately as a freshman and was deservedly so the SEC Freshman of the Year.

She led our team and the conference in goals as a freshman and she has only gotten better from there. Last year she was a better player than her freshman year. She controlled the tempo of every game and drew a lot of attention from our opponents. The exciting thing is she got better from her freshman to her sophomore year and we expect an even bigger jump for her junior year.”

No player from the Southeastern Conference has ever won the Hermann Trophy but Auburn does have some history with the award as Hoppa was a finalist in 1990 when she was named the Adidas/ISAA and NCAA Goalkeeper of the Year while a senior at Central Florida.

The 2010 watch list has 44 players on it, three of which play in the SEC. Of the 44 players, 19 are seniors, 15 are juniors and 10 are sophomores. There are 16 forwards listed, 18 midfielders, six defenders and four goalkeepers.

Voting for the MAC Hermann Trophy is conducted in late November, when a field of 15 semifinalists is reduced to three finalists. Those three will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, where a news conference will be held to announce the winner, followed by a banquet to honor the three finalists.

Last year’s winner was senior forward Kelley O’Hara of Stanford. The Missouri Athletic Club has been presenting college soccer’s players of the year awards since 1986.
Auburn opens its 2010 season Aug. 20 at home against Tennessee Tech. The match is set to kickoff at 7 p.m.

Clanton And Schepperle Advance At U.S. Women’s Amateur

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rising senior Cydney Clanton and former Tiger Candace Schepperle won their first-round matches Wednesday at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, moving to the Round of 32.

Clanton defeated rising UCLA sophomore Tiffany Lua, 1-up, in their match while Schepperle came from behind to defeat Furman rising senior Stefanie Kenoyer, 3 and 2.

Also competing Wednesday was former Tiger Margaret Shirley. She dropped a 2 and 1 decision to Sally Watson, who was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team.

Conducted by the United States Golf Association, the U.S. Women’s Amateur is taking place at Charlotte Country Club. The par-72 course is playing at 6,559 yards for the championship.

Clanton, a native of Concord, N.C. – a Charlotte suburb, started off the day by pulling out the come-from-behind effort over Lua. Clanton never led throughout the first 11 holes, but managed victories on Nos. 11 and 12 to take her first lead. Lua briefly squared the match on No. 14 before Clanton birdied No. 15 to take a lead she would not give up for the 1-up win.

Shirley, a native of Roswell, Ga., was next off the tee against Watson, the incoming Stanford freshman. Neither player took more than a one-hole lead in the first 14 holes of the match, and Shirley even led by a hole after No. 12. But, Watson won three consecutive holes on Nos. 13-15, taking a two-hole advantage for the victory.

Schepperle, a Birmingham native, had to dig herself out of an early hole against Kenoyer to take her win. Kenoyer won two of the first three holes to take the early lead, but Schepperle battled back and tied the match by the seventh hole. Schepperle took her first lead on No. 9 and never trailed again, using a pair of wins on Nos. 13 and 14 to take a three-hole lead for the eventual 3 and 2 win.

Two rounds are slated for Thursday, beginning with the second-round matches at 6:30 a.m. Clanton will go first, taking on rising high school senior Kristen Park at 6:40 a.m. Schepperle will go last off the tee at 9 a.m., taking on rising high school senior Jessica Korda.