New York City FC Academy product Dante Polvara, a junior midfielder at Georgetown University, has won the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy as the United States’ top male collegiate soccer player.
Polvara is the first winner in Georgetown history, tallying a team-leading 20 points (seven goals, assists) as the Hoyas reached the NCAA Division 1 national semifinal. He is also a two-time All-American and two-time Big East Midfielder of the Year.
During his NYCFC Academy days, Polvara played on two national championship-winning teams in the old U.S. Soccer Development Academy. He also attended preseason with NYCFC's first team, appearing in friendlies against the LA Galaxy, LAFC and Real Salt Lake.
The MAC Hermann Trophy has been handed out annually since 1967, with past male winners including Columbus Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe (2010), Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris (2015), Atlanta United defender Andrew Gutman (2018) and Inter Miami CF forward Robbie Robinson (2019).
Polvara will begin his professional career with Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen FC, news that was reported by The Washington Post’s Steven Goff, and later confirmed by the club on Saturday. They’re coached by former Atlanta United interim manager Stephen Glass and feature ex-MLS forward Christian Ramirez.
In recent years, NYCFC Academy alums moving to Europe include midfielder/defender James Sands (Rangers FC), fullback Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and midfielder Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) – a trio in the US men's national team pool.
As for the women’s version of the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy, Florida State and US women’s national team midfielder Jaelin Howell repeated.
