A step short, but an incredible honor nonetheless.
At Friday evening's MAC Hermann Trophy banquet in St. Louis, junior midfielder Peter Stroud fell just short of college soccer's top individual prize after being named a finalist in December 2022. The award went to Creighton's Duncan McGuire, with Syracuse's Levonte Johnson finishing as the other runner-up.
This comes after an immensely successful season for Stroud in midfield with the Blue Devils, who finished unbeaten in the regular season for the first time since 1982, won the ACC Coastal Division title, were the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament and made it to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2006.
Individually, Stroud was the No. 1 player in TopDrawer's Top 100 preseason and midseason rankings and No. 2 in the postseason, became the first player in ACC history to win ACC Midfielder of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons and earned spots on the All-America First Team, All-ACC First Team and All-South Region First Team. Stroud finished joint-second on the team in total points with nine, including a career-high five assists, and was a key piece to an outstanding Duke defense that conceded just five goals in 15 regular-season games.
Following spells with the prestigious academies of New York Red Bulls and West Ham United, Stroud came to Durham as one of the top recruits in the country and one of its most complete midfielders. Since his introduction to Koskinen Stadium in 2020, Stroud has started all but one game during his time as a Blue Devil and has become one of the team's most critical pieces. His contributions have made him a favorite of head coach John Kerr, who won the MAC Hermann Trophy himself in 1986 during Duke's sole national championship run.
A native of Chester, N.J., Stroud will return for his senior season with the Blue Devils, hoping to improve upon 2022's outstanding campaign.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity senior and recruitment/social chair of The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously sports editor for Volume 119.