Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 12, 1993 TAG: 9301120009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
UVA STAR IN SOCCER GETS AWARD
Awards were the last thing that concerned Virginia soccer player Claudio Reyna last fall when he missed five games with an ankle injury.He was worried about returning to the lineup.
Reyna, a sophomore midfielder, came back in time to help UVa win the ACC and NCAA championships for the second year in a row and Monday was rewarded with his selection as college soccer player of the year by the Missouri Athletic Club.
The runner-up to Reyna was UVa forward Ben Crawley, a senior who had more first-place votes, 43-39. Reyna's overall margin was 234-189 in voting by 1,100 college coaches.
Radford senior Dante Washington was ninth with nine first-place votes and 65 points.
"I was surprised that it didn't go to an upperclassmen," said Reyna, who was named the top offensive player at the men's final four.
Reyna, a member of the United States Olympic team, finished the season with five goals and eight assists.
"You should never evaluate Claudio on his goal-scoring," UVa coach Bruce Arena said. "You should evaluate him on the play of the team. Nobody has been more responsible for our success the last two seasons."
Reyna is one of two finalists with Brad Friedel of UCLA and Rob Ukrop of Davidson for the Herrmann Award, which also recognizes the top college soccer player. The Herrmann Award will be announced Thursday.
"I'm not picky," Reyna said. "I'm just happy to be one of the finalists."
Reyna was the third UVa player in seven years to be recognized by the Missouri Athletic Club. Other Cavaliers to be named college player of the year were John Harkes in 1987 and Tony Meola in 1989.
Mia Hamm of North Carolina was named women's player of the year.