Morgan Brian
2014
Brian is the eighth player overall to win back-to-back Herman trophies, and the first female player to accomplish the feat since 11-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year Christine Sinclair (University of Portland, 2004 and 2005). Additionally, Brian joins an esteemed list of female soccer players that have been awarded the Trophy in consecutive years, including Sinclair, and Olympic gold medalists Cindy Parlow (UNC) and Mia Hamm (UNC).
Brian helped lead the Cavaliers to the NCAA Division I Women’s College Cup final for the first time. She was the leading scorer in this year’s tournament with four goals and nine assists, including tying the NCAA Tournament single-game record with five assists in Virginia’s 8-0 first-round win against High Point.
In her 18 game appearances for Virginia, she tallied 10 goals and 14 assists. Brian also became the first three-time NSCAA First Team All-American in the program’s history and was also named 2014 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year. Brian also pulled double-duty this fall, representing the U.S. in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament in October. She was the only current collegiate player on the U.S. Women’s National Team.
2014 Runners-up for the women’s award were Florida State senior midfielder Dagny Brynjarsdottir (Hella, Iceland) and UCLA senior midfielder Sam Mewis (Hanson, Mass.).
2013
Brian finished the season as the ACC’s leading scorer with 46 points on 16 goals and a conference-best 14 assists. She also made Cavalier history by setting the single-season record in assists.
Her honors include First Team All-ACC and NSCAA First Team All-American, as well as earning spots on the ACC All-Tournament and All-NCAA Tournament teams. She also made three appearances for the United States Women’s National Team in 2013, scoring her first international goal against Mexico on Sept. 3, 2013.
Brian was also named TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America Women’s Player of the Year. She was also the first Cavalier to be named the Soccer America Women’s Player of the Year.
2013 Runner-ups were North Carolina senior midfielder and 2012 MAC Hermann winner Crystal Dunn (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), followed by UCLA junior defender Abby Dahlkepmer (Menlo Park, Calif.).