Every season, the twists and turns taken by the top Hermann Trophy candidates beggars belief. It isn’t at all surprising when a preseason favorite drops off the table only to be replaced by a candidate nobody knew before the season. So it goes with Jordan Morris, who’s had a good if unremarkable start to his junior season at Stanford, and Gordon Wild, who’s come from nowhere as a freshman.

One notable beacon is that there are no defenders on this list. It’s been a tough year for back line mavericks this season, as the top candidates have either fallen off in form or dealt with injuries that scuppered any preseason buzz. In truth, Georgetown’s Joshua Yaro was the only serious contender, and he’ll have to have a perfect final month and a half to wrest the trophy out of someone else’s hands.

Here are five candidates to watch over the final month of the season as we dive deeper into the race for the best DI men’s college soccer player in the country.