2006 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Winner...

Ladies and Gentleman, your 2006 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy winner....Junior forward Joseph Lapira from The University of Notre Dame.

Lapira had a massive 2006 scoring 22 goals and making 6 assists and he led the Fighting Irish to the Quarterfinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Lapria's impressive season has earned him a spot on the Generation Adidas prospect list obtained by 3rdDegree, however Lapria has said he will stay in college for his senior season. Lapria's Sophomore season was not as impressive as he scored 1/3rd the number of goals.

The top runner-up vote getter was Boston College junior forward Charlie Davies followed by Southern Methodist University senior midfielder Jay Needham.

As in any sport, winning the top college prize is by no means a ticket to success at the professional level and in soccer that is no different. Past winners of the Hermann Trophy have often struggled to earn a place in MLS. Right Luchi Gonzalez, Ali Curtis and Chris Wingert? Maybe the fact that Danny O'Rourke & Alecko Eskandarian won the award before becoming solid MLS players shows the selection committee is becoming better at scouting pro-players.

If Lapria wants a professional soccer career I worry he may be making a mistake by returning to college. Right now the buzz around him have made a lot of people take a look at him. Going into the draft as a GA player would help a lot of teams take a gamble on him due to his size. However, as a college graduate he's not going to have the protected roster status GA provides and he could slip into a much lower draft slot. On the other hand, graduating from Notre Dame is a great accomplishment and you can't underestimate an education to backstop a professional sports career.

In other news, by the looks of the above picture, someone needs to tell Joseph the 70's porn star look isn't in. Congrats!