Who could predict that when Alex Torda?s parents placed their son in soccer at such a young age that he would eventually become one of the top midfielders in the nation at the collegiate level.

Junior Alex Torda made Flyer history by making the Missouri Athletic Club?s Hermann Trophy watch list. The list consists of 48 male soccer players at the Division I intercollegiate level. Nominees for the Hermann Trophy are selected by head coaches across the country.

Torda might have been the first at Dayton named to the watch list but one of his coaches beat him to the punch. Alex Yi signed on as an assistant coach at Dayton for the 2008 season. Yi was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy as a sophomore while attending UCLA in 2001.

?It?s an unbelievable accomplishment to even be on the list of names,? Yi said. ?I?m so happy for Alex Torda and the Dayton soccer program because he is a great representative of our team and our school.?

After his sophomore year at UCLA, Yi signed with the Royal Antwerp Football Club in Belgium, where he played for two years. Yi decided to return home to continue playing in Major League Soccer. He was chosen by FC Dallas and played there for the past four years.

?It was an incredible club with awesome people,? Yi said. ?I have a lot of memories and friends still in Dallas. I had a really fantastic time in both places.?

Yi retired as a defender from FC Dallas this past April. Not only was Yi nominated for the Hermann Trophy, he was also up for the Pacific-10 Freshman of the Year while in college.

Coach Dennis Currier found Yi and contacted him at his home in Maryland to join the Flyer soccer program.

?I am unbelievably lucky for Dennis to have singled me out and found me,? Yi said. ?I was just really fortunate and lucky.?

Torda, originally from Dallas, won a number of awards playing for the Flyers last year. He placed on the All-Conference, All-Ohio, and All-Region teams and was Dayton?s MVP. This year he hopes to add All-American honors and ultimately the Hermann Trophy to that list.

?I actually have several friends on the [Hermann Trophy] list that I?ve played club [soccer] with,? Torda said. ?One actually went to my high school.?

Connecticut, Saint Louis, and Wake Forest each have three players on the Hermann Trophy watch list. O?Brian White of the University of Connecticut is a returning nominee.

?It?s really anyone?s award,? Torda said. ?A bunch of people have been nominated. It?s whoever comes out and performs to the best of their ability, and that?s what I?m going to do.?

Torda said that he hopes to work on his game overall and maintain focus on controlling the ball.

?He doesn?t have to change the way he plays the game or thinks,? Yi said. ?There?s a reason why he?s on the list. He?s worked hard and we want to continue to push him to do those things.?

Originally, Torda had no intentions of playing soccer at the professional level. He plans on getting his MBA after finishing his undergraduate degree.

?I would one day like to play professionally if the opportunity presents itself,? Torda said. ?I?m sure if it?s something I really want to do Coach [Currier] will help me out.?

Torda, however, isn?t getting caught up in the hype.

?More importantly, it?s about the team to me and what we all want to do,? Torda said.

Torda?s goal for the team is to make it to the NCAA or Atlantic 10 tournament and to finish with a successful season.

?The core of the team is juniors so most of us are upperclassmen now and we have the experience under our belt,? Torda said. ?I know we have the talent. It?s going to take a good season for us, but I know we have the potential.?

Fifteen semifinalists will be chosen in November and those selected will be processed down to three finalists in December. The trophy will be presented in St. Louis Jan. 29.