KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Portland Pilots defender Kevin Bonilla has been named a semifinalist for the 2023 MAC Hermann Trophy. He is the first Pilot to be selected since 2002 when Nate Jaqua was named a finalist for the award.
 
"Congrats to Kevin and his teammates for such a significant honor," Portland Head Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "Kevin for me in the most humble way is the best right back in all of college soccer. Any individual award is the reflection of team success. To be among the best 15 players in college soccer voted by opposing coaches shows the incredible quality Kevin has on both sides of the ball and the year we had playing terrific attacking passing football. Kevin had his best year at Portland and stepped up to make sure we didn't lose production and was a part of eight shutouts. He blossomed into an all-time Portland great and become our team captain, helping lead a terrific team culture in a high-performance team-first environment. Congrats, Kevin, and well deserved!"

The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer, given to the most outstanding player in NCAA soccer that year. The award has been given annually since 1967, with Creighton's Duncan McGuire winning last year on the men's side. Three finalists will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 13, as voted on by members of United Soccer Coaches, and following that the winner will be announced on Jan. 5, 2024. 
 
Bonilla joins a special list of Pilots, with only five men's players being named a semifinalist in the program's history. Bonilla is just the second Pilot to be named a semifinalist since the MAC and Hermann awards were combined back in 2002.
 
The Dallas native earns the honor after a stellar season that saw Bonilla tally one goal and 10 assists across 17 matches. His 10 assists were the most by a Pilot since Rey Ortiz in 2017 and also led the WCC while ranking eighth nationally. His 0.59 assists per game was 12^th nationally and first in the conference. Along with engineering Portland's high-octane offense, Bonilla was a rock-solid defender who guided the Pilots to the best goals-against average (.882) and shutout percentage (.471) in the conference.
 
The gaudy stats have led to numerous accolades for Bonilla. He became the first Pilot to win WCC Defender of the Year since 2010 and was also named to the All-WCC First Team. Regionally, he earned first team honors for the United Soccer Coaches All-West region. Recently, he was one of 44 college soccer players selected to participate in the 2023 adidas MLS College Showcase, which highlights some of the top college prospects for the MLS SuperDraft.
 
The Pilots finished off a historic year that saw them go 12-5 and earn a first-round bye for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988. They boasted a home unbeaten streak of 26-0-2 that was a program record and the longest in the nation. They led the WCC in 11 different categories and nationally ranked second in assists per game (3.18), third in scoring offense (2.65), fourth in assists (54), fifth in points (144), sixth in goals (45) and goal differential (30), 12^th in shutout percentage (.471), 21^st in overall win percentage (.706) and 24^th in goals-against average (.882).

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