W&M'S Schaffer, Daly Receive Prestigious Honors From NSCAA
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - William and Mary junior forward
Mallory Schaffer was named a semifinalist for the 2011 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in intercollegiate soccer, while Tribe women's soccer head coach
John Daly was honored as the NSCAA/Mondo Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
Schaffer is the second Tribe player to be a semifinalist for the award, joining Claire Zimmeck ('09) who was a semifinalist in both 2007 and 2008.
"Mallory had an outstanding season for William and Mary," Daly remarked. "A leader both on and off the field, she captained the team and led the way with 17 goals and six assists. She has already cemented her position as a Tribe all-time great and combines her athletic prowess with academic excellence."
Schaffer had an unbelievable season for the Tribe, becoming the 11th player in program history to be named CAA Player of the Year. The Allison Park, Pennsylvania native led the CAA in goals with 17 and points with 40. Her six assists on the year ranked in a tie for seventh, while her six game-winning goals were the most in the conference.
Schaffer's best stretch of the season came in six games spanning from September 11 to October 2. In those six matches, Schaffer scored at least one goal each game, racking up nine goals in total. The Tribe's junior captain also liked to score in bunches in 2011, racking up two goals in five separate matches.
Head coaches of NCAA Division I programs with current membership in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will vote to determine the 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient. Three finalists for the award will be announced on Friday, Dec. 9. They will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news conference on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, where the winner will be announced.
Daly was named Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his illustrious career. Daly, along with the other regional coaches of the year will be joined by the coaches whose teams advanced to the NCAA semifinals on the ballot for the NSCAA/Mondo National Coach of the Year.
The 2011 season was a terrific one for both Daly and the Tribe, as William and Mary captured its 10th CAA conference title in school history and made its 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The College ended the year with an overall record of 17-3-2, running its NCAA-record streak of consecutive winning seasons to 30.
During his 25 years at the helm of the Tribe women's soccer program, Daly has become one of the finest coaches in the nation. Never having suffered a losing season under his watch, Daly's all-time career coaching record stands at an impressive 347-140-41 (.696). A seven-time regional coach of the year, Daly had also been named the CAA Coach of the Year on five occasions - including this season - and the VaSID Coach of the Year four times. Under Daly's tutelage, 13 W&M players have garnered a total of 29 All-America honors, including two National Players of the Year in Megan McCarthy (1987) and four-time All-American Natalie Neaton (1995).
Amongst his peers, Daly by all measures ranks as one of the top 20 coaches in NCAA history. When the College defeated Delaware in double-overtime on Oct. 3, 2008, Daly became just the fourth women's soccer coach in NCAA Division I history to win 300 games all with the same school. All told, Daly is the ninth coach in Division I to accomplish the remarkable feat of 300 victories and the 19th across all divisions in the NCAA.