Duke’s women’s soccer team put four players on the 2026 Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, and no program placed more names on the list.
Katie Shea Collins, Sam Courtwright, Minestrella and Cameron Roller were all included in the 30-player midseason group, as announced Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Women’s Soccer Organization. The watch list was trimmed from 62 preseason candidates and was compiled by members of the Division I Women’s All-America Committee, chaired by Jennifer Rockwood.
Collins has wasted no time making her mark after transferring to Durham before the season. The Gallatin, Tennessee, native has produced six goals and four assists for 16 points.
She scored in five straight games and recently turned in a two-goal, one-assist performance against top-ranked Stanford. Her six goals rank eighth in the ACC, and her three game-winning goals place her 14th nationally.
Courtwright, another transfer, has given Duke a major lift in midfield. The Dallas native has posted three goals and six assists for 12 points, and her distribution has been among the best in the country. She ranks 20th nationally and third in the ACC with a 0.60 assists-per-game average, while her six assists are second in the league.
Minestrella continues to be one of the nation’s most dangerous finishers. The Redondo Beach, California, native leads Duke with 10 goals, along with two assists and 22 points.
She has scored in six consecutive games and became the first Blue Devil to record three straight seasons with at least 10 goals. Minestrella sits seven goals shy of the Duke career record, and her 10 goals rank sixth nationally and third in the ACC.
Roller’s value shows up at the other end of the field. The 2024 ACC Defender of the Year has started all 10 matches and logged a team-high 792 minutes while helping Duke to four shutouts. The Sherman, Texas, native has also chipped in two assists and has been part of a Blue Devil defense that has produced 33 clean sheets over her four-year career.
The Hermann Trophy is the top individual honor in college soccer, awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the National Player of the Year. Division I head coaches who are members of the IWSOC and United Soccer Coaches determine the winner.
The award honors Robert Hermann, the St. Louis businessman and soccer executive who founded the National Professional Soccer League, the first professional soccer league in the United States and later the North American Soccer League.
Hermann was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
Fifteen players will be named semifinalists on Dec. 4 after NCAA Division I All-American voting concludes. Coaches will then select three finalists, and the 2026 winner will be announced Jan. 8, 2027, at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis.
Duke’s next match comes Saturday, Oct. 3, when California visits Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium for a 5 p.m. start.
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