[AWARDS] Akron star Teal Bunbury became just the third sophomore to win the Hermann Trophy when he was named the winner of the 2009 award Friday night at the Missouri Athletic Club.

The first runner-up was Harvard senior forward Andre Akpan, followed by Wake Forest junior midfielder Corben Bone.

"It feels amazing to be honored with his incredible award," Bunbury said. "I have to give all the credit to my teammates and our coaching staff because I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without them."

"I also want to thank the University of Akron administration and our fans because they also played a huge role. I'm blessed to be able to play the game that I love and this is a special night for me."

Bunbury, who also was named the Soccer America Player of the Year, scored 17 goals for the Zips, who lost to Virginia in the final on penalty kicks.

Last year, Steve Zakuani star was the first runner-up for the Hermann Trophy as a sophomore.

"It a tremendous honor for Teal and certainly for our program," said Akron coach Caleb Porter. "We accomplished a lot this year and this is icing on the cake. It is really a credit to how hard Teal has worked because I don't think I have had a player work harder to get better than him. As a freshman, he came off the bench and scored six goals. This year, he stepped up and scored 17 goals, was the conference player of the year, an All-American and now has earned the Hermann Trophy."

Like Zakuani, Bunbury signed a professional contract with Generation adidas and will forgo the final two years of eligibility to enter the MLS Super Draft.

MEN'S HERMANN TROPHY WINNERS
1967: Dov Markus, Long Island
1968: Manuel Hernandez, San Jose State
1969: Al Trost, St. Louis
1970: Al Trost, St. Louis
1971: Mike Seerey, St. Louis
1972: Mike Seerey, St. Louis
1973: Dan Counce, St. Louis
1974: Farrukh Quraishi, Oneonta State
1975: Steve Ralbovsky, Brown
1976: Glenn Myernick, Hartwick
1977: Billy Gazonas, Hartwick
1978: Angelo DiBernardo, Indiana
1979: Jim Stamatis, Penn State
1980: Joe Morrone, Jr., Connecticut
1981: Armando Betancourt, Indiana
1982: Joe Ulrich, Duke
1983: Mike Jeffries, Duke
1984: Amr Aly, Columbia
1985: Tom Kain, Duke
1986: John Kerr, Duke
1987: Bruce Murray, Clemson (MAC: John Harkes, Virginia)
1988: Ken Snow, Indiana
1989: Tony Meola, Virginia
1990: Ken Snow, Indiana
1991: Alexi Lalas, Rutgers
1992: Brad Friedel, UCLA
1993: Claudio Reyna, Virginia
1994: Brian Maisonneuve, Indiana (MAC: Todd Yeagley, Indiana)
1995: Mike Fisher, Virginia (MAC: Matt McKeon, St. Louis)
1996: Mike Fisher, Virginia
1997: Johnny Torres, Creighton
1998: Wojtek Krakowiak, Clemson (MAC: Jay Heaps, Duke)
1999: Ali Curtis, Duke (MAC: Sasha Victorine, UCLA)
2000: Chris Gbandi, Connecticut (MAC: Ali Curtis, Duke)
2001: Luchi Gonzalez, SMU
2002: Alecko Eskandarian, Virginia
2003: Chris Wingert, St. John's
2004: Danny O'Rourke, Indiana
2005: Jason Garey, Maryland
2006: Joseph Lapira, Notre Dame
2007: O'Brian White, Connecticut
2008: Marcus Tracy, Wake Forest
2009: Teal Bunbury, Stanford