2020 Southern Conference men's soccer season
The 2020 Southern Conference men's soccer season will be the 25th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season was originally slated to begin on August 28 and conclude on November 4, 2020, culminating with the 2020 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament.
2020 Southern Conference men's soccer season | |
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League | NCAA Division I |
Sport | Soccer |
Duration | February 3 – April 17, 2021 |
Number of teams | 6 |
2021 MLS SuperDraft | |
Regular Season | |
Season MVP | Offensive: Defensive: Goalkeeper: |
Tournament |
2020 Southern Conference men's soccer standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mercer | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Belmont | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Furman | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNC Greensboro | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wofford | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VMI | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Tennessee State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On August 13, 2020, the NCAA suspended all fall championships, which coincided with the SOuthern Conference suspending all fall sports through the end of the calendar year. On September 16, 2020 the NCAA voted on men's soccer resuming play for the 2020–21 academic year on February 3, 2021 as the earliest date to schedule fixtures and April 17, 2021 as the latest date to schedule fixtures.
Despite the delay, teams on an individual basis can schedule competitive fixtures during the Fall 2020 semester. Thus far, Mercer is the only SoCon team that has opted to play games in the fall.
Background
Previous season
The 2019 season saw Furman win the SoCon regular season championship, posting a 5–1–0 SoCon record and a 11–7–1 season record.[1] Mercer successfully three-peated in the SoCon Tournament, winning their third consecutive SoCon Tournament championship.
In the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Mercer lost in the opening round to Charlotte.[2]
Coaching changes
The 2019–20 offseason saw Charlie Hubbard depart VMI as a head coach. On March 5, 2020, Hubbard resigned to take an assistant coach position with James Madison University.[3] Hubbard coached VMI for one season and finished with an overall record of 1–16–0. On March 23, 2020, VMI assistant coach, Max Watson, was promoted to head coach.[4]
School | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure |
Date of vacancy |
Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VMI | ![]() | Hired by James Madison (asst.) | March 5, 2020 | Preseason | ![]() | March 23, 2020 |
Head coaches
- As of the 2019 season
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school |
Overall record | Record at school |
SoCon record |
NCAA Tournaments[5] |
NCAA College Cups[5] |
NCAA Titles[5] |
Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belmont | David Costa | Xavier (asst.) | 2 | 5–12–2 (.316) | 5–12–2 (.316) | 1–4–1 (.250) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [6] |
East Tennessee State | David Casper | Kentucky (asst.) | 3 | 17–15–3 (.529) | 17–15–3 (.529) | 8–3–1 (.708) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [7] |
Furman | Doug Allison | South Carolina (asst.) | 25 | 296–138–55 (.662) | 296–138–55 (.662) | 119–44–18 (.707) | 10 | 0 | 0 | [8] |
Mercer | Brad Ruzzo | Bradley (asst.) | 13 | 124–97–26 (.555) | 124–97–26 (.555) | 32–16–4 (.654) | 3 | 0 | 0 | [9] |
UNC Greensboro | Chris Rich | Duke (asst.) | 2 | 8–9–1 (.472) | 8–9–1 (.472) | 5–1–0 (.833) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [10] |
VMI | Max Watson | VMI (asst.) | 1 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [11] |
Wofford | Joel Tyson | Charlotte Independence (asst.) | 2 | 4–13–1 (.250) | 4–13–1 (.250) | 2–3–1 (.417) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [12] |
Fall 2020 season
Fall matches
Mercer University played competitive matches during the fall.
Index to colors and formatting |
---|
SoCon member won |
SoCon member lost |
SoCon member tied |
SoCon teams in bold |
All times Eastern time.
Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia State | Mercer | Betts Stadium • Macon, GA | L 1–2 | 161 |
September 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Mercer | Betts Stadium • Macon, GA | W 3–0 | 161 |
October 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Mercer | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | L 0–2 | 298 |
October 9 | 6:00 p.m. | South Carolina | Mercer | Betts Stadium • Macon, GA | L 0–1 | 116 |
October 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Mercer | No. 4 Kentucky | Bell Soccer Complex • Lexington, KY | L 1–3 | 97 |
United Soccer Coaches
During the fall 2020 season, United Soccer Coaches ran a Top 5 poll for the programs playing in fall.
Improvement in ranking | ||
Drop in ranking | ||
RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 5 | |
NV | No votes received | |
Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mercer | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
TopDrawerSoccer.com
During the fall 2020 season, United Soccer Coaches ran a Top 10 poll for the programs playing in fall.
Improvement in ranking | ||
Drop in ranking | ||
RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10 | |
NV | No votes received | |
Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mercer | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
Awards and honors
Date | Player | Position | School | Honor | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 22, 2020 | Trevor Martineau | FW | Mercer | TopDrawer Soccer Team of the Week | [13] |
Spring 2021 season
Preseason poll
The preseason poll will be released in December 2020 or January 2021.
Team Ranking | Points | First Place Votes | |
---|---|---|---|
1. | |||
2. | |||
3. | |||
4. | |||
5. | |||
6. | |||
7. |
Preseason national polls
The preseason national polls were originally to be released in July and August 2020. Only CollegeSoccerNews.com released a preseason poll for 2020.
United Soccer |
CSN | Soccer America |
Top Drawer Soccer | |
Belmont | — | — | — | — |
---|---|---|---|---|
ETSU | — | — | — | — |
Furman | — | — | — | — |
Mercer | — | — | — | — |
UNCG | — | — | — | — |
VMI | — | — | — | — |
Wofford | — | — | — | — |
Early season tournaments
Early season tournaments will be announced in late Spring and Summer 2019.
Team | Tournament | Finish |
---|---|---|
Results
Index to colors and formatting |
---|
SoCon member won |
SoCon member lost |
SoCon member tied |
SoCon teams in bold |
All times Eastern time.† denotes Homecoming game
National rankings
Improvement in ranking | ||
Drop in ranking | ||
RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 | |
NV | No votes received | |
Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belmont | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
East Tennessee State | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
Furman | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
Mercer | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
UNC Greensboro | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
VMI | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
Wofford | USC | None released | |||||||||||||||||
TDS | |||||||||||||||||||
Regional rankings - South Region
Improvement in ranking | ||
Drop in ranking | ||
RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10 | |
NV | No votes received | |
The United Soccer Coaches' south region ranks teams among the ACC, Atlantic Sun, and SoCon.
Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belmont | ||||||||||||
East Tennessee State | ||||||||||||
Furman | ||||||||||||
Mercer | ||||||||||||
UNC Greensboro | ||||||||||||
VMI | ||||||||||||
Wofford | ||||||||||||
Players of the Week
Week | Offensive | Defensive | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team | ||
Postseason
Awards and honors
2020 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Individual Awards | |
Award | Recipient(s) |
---|---|
Offensive Player of the Year | |
Defensive Player of the Year | |
Goalkeeper of the Year | |
Coach of the Year | |
Newcomer of the Year |
2020 SoCon Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams | ||
First Team | Second Team | Newcomer Team |
---|---|---|
SoCon Tournament
Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
1 | |||||||||
4 | |||||||||
2 | |||||||||
3 | |||||||||
NCAA Tournament
Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TBD |
2021 MLS Draft
The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was held on January 21, 2021. No players from the SoCon were selected in the draft.[14]
References
- "Furman earns No. 1 seed for SoCon tournament". soconsports.com. November 2, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "Charlotte men's soccer scores 3-1 win in NCAA first round". WBTV. November 22, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "James Madison University men's soccer program adds Charlie Hubbard to coaching staff". Newsbreak. March 6, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "VMI promotes Watson to men's soccer coach". Roanoke News. March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. ncaa.org. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- "David Coast - Belmont Soccer". belmontbruins.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- "David Casper | Men's Soccer Coaches". ETSUBucs.com. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- "Doug Allison - Head Coach - Men's Soccer Coaches". Furman University. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- "Brad Ruzzo - Men's Soccer Coach". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- "Chris Rich named UNCG men's soccer head coach". newsandfeatures.uncg.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- "Max Watson - Head Men's Soccer Coach - Staff Director". vmikeydets.com. Virginia Military Institute Athletics. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- "Joel Tyson - Men's Soccer Coach". Wofford College Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
- "Men's Team of the Week: September 22". Top Drawer Soccer. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- "2021 SuperDraft Tracker". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved January 23, 2021.