KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Michigan State women’s soccer senior goalkeeper Lauren Kozal was named a semifinalist for the 2022 Women’s MAC Hermann Trophy, the Missouri Athletic Club announced Wednesday afternoon.
The goalkeeper from Ada, Michigan, becomes the first Spartan to garner recognition as a Hermann Trophy Semifinalist in program history. Before the season, Kozal joined three-time United Soccer Coaches All-American and 2022 Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Laura (Heyboer) Heethuis as the only Spartans to ever appear on the preseason watch list for the award.
Of the 15 semifinalists, the Spartan netminder was the only goalkeeper listed as a candidate for the highest honor in women’s college soccer. Kozal stands as one of two student-athletes representing the Big Ten Conference alongside Penn State graduate forward Ally Schlegel. Kozal also joined two other athletes hailing from the state of Michigan, as the Ada-native Spartan appeared alongside Duke sophomore forward Michelle Cooper (Clarkston) and Notre Dame junior defender Eva Gaetino (Dexter). Michigan and Texas tied for the most homegrown athletes on the list with three representatives apiece.
The Hermann Trophy, presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club, is the nation’s highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by the voting of Division I coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. The 2022 finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 7, following a final round of voting. The winner will be revealed on Jan. 6, 2023, at a ceremony inside the historic Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
Kozal published one of the most dominant seasons in Michigan State program history, logging a single-season goalkeeper win record with a 17-3-3 individual mark between the posts. She booked her second-straight Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year honor and became Michigan State’s first unanimous selection for the award, earning a spot as an All-Big Ten First Team representative in the process. Kozal stood watch over one of the best defensive units in NCAA Division I, allowing a goals-against average of 0.675 while leading the Big Ten in shutouts (10), shutouts per game (0.435) and placing second in save percentage…
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