UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 5, 2006 - Penn State All-America forward Tiffany Weimer (North Haven, Conn.) will be part of the nationally televised announcement for college player of the year Friday, Jan. 6. The announcement will be carried live from the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on ESPNews beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Weimer is one of three finalists for the M.A.C. Herman Trophy, given annually to college soccer¡¯s top male and female player of the year. It is her second-straight appearance among the top three for the honor.

Penn State is the only school that has had either the winner or the runner-up for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy each of the past five years.

Weimer, the Big Ten¡¯s career leader in goals scored, was last year¡¯s runner-up and will join 2004 winner Christine Sinclair of Portland and Notre Dame¡¯s Katie Thorlakson at the awards ceremony. The finalists were determined in voting by Division I women's soccer coaches who are members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The winner will receive the prestigious crystal soccer ball.

Weimer led Penn State with 32 goals, establishing the Big Ten Conference single-season record and finished with 91 career goals, which also set the conference mark. She owns a share of the NCAA record for consecutive games with a goal (17). Weimer helped the Penn State to its third College Cup appearance ever, the team's eighth consecutive Big Ten regular season championship and its first No. 1 ranking in program history. Weimer was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was a unanimous choice for first team honors. Her selection as an NSCAA first team All-American marked her third straight first team honor. This is the second year in a row that she is a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy after finishing as last year's runner-up.

Sinclair, a senior forward from Burnaby, B.C., was the leading goal scorer in the country with 39 goals. She led the Pilots to the national championship and an undefeated season, earning Most Valuable Player honors at last weekend's Women's College Cup. Sinclair was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. She has been a member of the Canadian National Team since 2000. Sinclair received the 2004 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy and could join Mia Hamm and Cindy Parlow as the only women to receive the award in consecutive years.

Thorlakson, a senior forward from Langley, B.C., led the Fighting Irish with 35 assists and added 18 goals to tie for the team lead with 71 points. She played in all 25 matches for a Notre Dame squad that reached the NCAA quarterfinals. Thorlakson is the two-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and a member of the Canadian National Team. In 2004, she led Notre Dame to the national championship and was named the Women's College Cup's Most Valuable Player.

An exhibition featuring the current and past recipients of the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy is on display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. Some of the biggest names in soccer like Mia Hamm and Claudio Reyna have won the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. For a complete list of past M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winners, log on to www.mac-stl.org.

No. 2 Penn State finished its historic season at 23-0-2 with its highest final ranking ever. From sport-to-sport, Penn State women's soccer now becomes one of the few teams in NCAA history to finish with an undefeated record without winning a national championship.