2020 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
The 2020 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season was the 19th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The regular season began on September 18 and concluded on November 6, 2020. The season culminated with the Sun Belt Tournament which began on November 13 and concluded on November 15, 2020.
| 2020 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Soccer |
| Duration | September 18, 2020 – November 16, 2020 |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Total attendance | 3,066 |
| Average attendance | 192 |
| 2021 MLS SuperDraft | |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | Coastal Carolina |
| Runners-up | Georgia State |
| Season MVP | George Proctor, Georgia State |
| Top scorer | Tied (3) (5) |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Coastal Carolina |
| Runners-up | Georgia State |
| Finals MVP | Tor Saunders, Coastal Carolina |
| 2020 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina‡ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Arkansas | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard† | – | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the season
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected the landscape of men's soccer in the Sun Belt Conference. Long-time program, Appalachian State suspended its men's varsity soccer program in the wake of the pandemic, due to anticipated budget cuts in the athletics program. Additionally, Sun Belt associate member, Howard, opted out of playing during the fall season due to concerns with the ongoing pandemic.
The SBC, along with the ACC were the only two men's soccer conferences that played during the fall 2020.
The conference opted to play a six-match season with all programs doing a home-and-home series, or double round robin against every program in the conference. Most teams completed the fall season playing only 8–12 matches instead of the normal 15–18 matches.
Teams
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Arkansas | Conway, Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex | 1,000 |
| Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | Conway, South Carolina | Coastal Carolina University Soccer Field | 1,000 |
| Georgia Southern Eagles | Statesboro, Georgia | Eagle Field | 3,500 |
| Georgia State Panthers | Decatur, Georgia | GSU Soccer Complex | 1,892 |
| Atlanta | Center Parc Stadium | 24,333 |
Head coaches
- As of the 2019 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school |
Overall record | Record at school |
Sun Belt record |
NCAA Tournaments[1] |
NCAA College Cups[1] |
NCAA Titles[1] |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Arkansas | Ross Duncan | Vermont (asst.) | 9 | 33–66–9 (.347) | 33–66–9 (.347) | 13–25–6 (.364) | 2 | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| Coastal Carolina | Shaun Docking | Charleston Southern | 22 | 296–144–37 (.659) | 276–125–35 (.673) | 9–4–1 (.679) | 13 | 0 | 0 | [3] |
| Georgia Southern | John Murphy | Anderson (SC) | 4 | 90–67–22 (.564) | 24–23–7 (.509) | 8–4–2 (.643) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [4] |
| Georgia State | Brett Surrency | Jacksonville (asst.) | 10 | 89–75–12 (.540) | 89–75–12 (.540) | 15–6–3 (.688) | 2 | 0 | 0 | [5] |
| Howard | Phillip Gyau | St. John's College High School | 6 | 8–72–13 (.156) | 8–72–13 (.156) | 2–19–3 (.146) | 0 | 0 | 0 | [6] |
Preseason
Preseason poll
The preseason poll was released on August 27, 2020.[7]
| Team Ranking | Points | First Place Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Central Arkansas | 12 | 1 |
| 2. | Coastal Carolina | 10 | 1 |
| Georgia State | 10 | 1 | |
| 4. | Georgia Southern | 8 | 1 |
Preseason national polls
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, only College Soccer News released a preseason poll.
| United Soccer |
CSN[8] | SoccerAmerica | Top DrawerSoccer | |
| Central Arkansas | N/A | — | N/A | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Carolina | N/A | RV | N/A | N/A |
| Georgia Southern | N/A | — | N/A | N/A |
| Georgia State | N/A | — | N/A | N/A |
Preseason honors
- Defensive Player – Preseason All-Conference
- Alberto Suarez, Central Arkansas
- Offensive Player – Preseason All-Conference
- Aris Briggs, Georgia State
| Position | Nat. | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| FW |  USA |
Aris Briggs | Georgia State |
| FW |  ENG |
Adam Davie | Georgia Southern |
| FW |  ITA |
Claudio Repetto | Coastal Carolina |
| MF |  DEN |
Soren Jenson | Central Arkansas |
| MF | ENG |
Matthew Fearnley | Georgia State |
| MF |  SCO |
Ross Finnie | Georgia State |
| DF |  ESP |
Alberto Suárez | Central Arkansas |
| DF |  MEX |
Aldair Cortes | Georgia Southern |
| DF | ITA |
Edoardo Calzola | Central Arkansas |
| GK | ENG |
Paul Tyson | Georgia State |
| GK |  BRA |
Jose Eduardo Bomfim | Georgia Southern |
Regular season
Conference results
For the 2020 season, each team plays every other conference team twice; once home and once away.
Weekly results
- Legend
| Index to colors and formatting |
|---|
| SBC member won |
| SBC member lost |
| SBC member tied |
| SBC teams in bold |
All times Eastern time.
Week 1 (Sep. 14 – Sept. 20)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia State | Mercer | Bear Field • Macon, GA | W 2–1 | 161 |
| September 19 | 5:00 p.m. | UAB | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | L 2–3 | 105 |
| September 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | South Carolina | Eugene Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC | L 0–2 | 320 |
Week 2 (Sep. 21 – Sept. 27)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Mercer | Betts Stadium • Macon, GA | L 0–3 | 161 |
| September 24 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia State | South Carolina | Stone Soccer Stadium • Columbia, SC | W 3–1 | 320 |
| September 26 | 6:00 p.m. | UAB | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | W 3–2 | 266 |
Week 3 (Sep. 28 – Oct. 4)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30 | 5:00 p.m. | UAB | Georgia State | Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA | W 4–0 | 214 |
| October 2 | 2:00 p.m. | Central Arkansas | Kentucky | Bell Soccer Complex • Lexington, KY | L 1–2 (OT) | 83 |
| October 4 | 2:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | GSU 2–0 | 377 |
Week 4 (Oct. 5 – Oct. 11)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Mercer | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | W 2–0 | 298 |
| October 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Georgia State | Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Field • Conway, SC | CCU 1–0 | 150 |
| October 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Central Arkansas | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | UCA 4–1 | 233 |
Week 5 (Oct. 12 – Oct. 18)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 13 | 8:00 p.m. | Georgia State | UAB | BBVA Field • Birmingham, AL | W 4–1 | 195 |
| October 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Central Arkansas | Coastal Carolina | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | CCU 3–2 | 50 |
| October 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia State | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | GSU 3–0 | 273 |
| October 18 | 1:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina | Central Arkansas | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | CCU 1–0 (OT) | 62 |
Week 6 (Oct. 19 – Oct. 25)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 24 | 2:00 p.m. | Georgia State | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | UCA 2–0 | 84 |
| October 25 | 2:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | CCU 2–1 (OT) | 150 |
Week 7 (Oct. 26 – Nov. 1)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 31 | 2:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | UCA 1–0 | 96 |
| November 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | GSU 2–0 | 223 |
Week 8 (Nov. 2 – Nov. 8)
| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | Central Arkansas | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA | GSU 1–0 | 194 |
| 6:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | CCU 3–0 | 291 | |
Players of the Week honors
| Week | Offensive | Defensive | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team | ||
| Sep. 23 | Aris Briggs | FW | Georgia State | Paul Tyson | GK | Georgia State | [9] |
| Sep. 30 | Matthew Fearnley | MF | Georgia State | George Proctor | DF | Georgia State | [10] |
| Oct. 7 | Aris Briggs | FW | Georgia State | Gunther Rankenburg | GK | Georgia State | [11] |
| Oct. 14 | Soren Jensen | MF | Central Arkansas | Tor Saunders | GK | Coastal Carolina | [12] |
| Oct. 21 | Andrew Bennett | MF | Georgia State | Tor Saunders | GK | Coastal Carolina | [13] |
| Oct. 28 | Soren Jensen | MF | Central Arkansas | Zach Schawl | GK | Central Arkansas | [14] |
| Ethan Hackenberg | FW | Coastal Carolina | |||||
| Nov. 4 | Matthew Fearnley | MF | Georgia State | George Proctor | DF | Georgia State | [15] |
| Nov. 10 | Marcello Jones | MF | Coastal Carolina | George Proctor | DF | Georgia State | [16] |
Postseason
Sun Belt Tournament
All four teams qualified for the modified Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament was played from November 13–15, with Coastal Carolina winning the championship in penalties over Georgia State.
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Coastal Carolina | 6 | |||||||
| 4 | Georgia Southern | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Coastal Carolina (pen.) | 0 (4) | |||||||
| 2 | Georgia State | 0 (3) | |||||||
| 2 | Georgia State (pen.) | 1 (4) | |||||||
| 3 | Central Arkansas | 1 (2) | |||||||
NCAA Tournament
The winner of the 2020 SBC Tournament will earn an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed from November/December 2020 to April/May 2021.
| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Coastal Carolina |
Postseason awards and honors
| 2020 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Individual Awards[17] | ||||||
| Award | Recipient(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | George Proctor, Georgia State | |||||
| Offensive Player of the Year | Aris Briggs, Georgia State | |||||
| Newcomer of the Year | Tor Saunders, Coastal Carolina | |||||
| Freshman of the Year | Jason Kemble, Coastal Carolina | |||||
| Coach of the Year | Shaun Docking, Coastal Carolina | |||||
| 2020 Sun Belt Men's Soccer All-Conference Team[17] |
|
Aris Briggs, Georgia State (F) |
MLS SuperDraft
The 2021 MLS SuperDraft will be held in January 2021.
Total picks by school
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Comp. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Coastal Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Georgia State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Georgia Southern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Howard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
List of selections
| Round | Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 61 | Real Salt Lake | Aris Briggs | FW | Georgia State | [18] |
| 3 | 74 | Nashville SC | Tor Saunders | GK | Coastal Carolina | [19] |
Notable undrafted players
The following players went pro after the 2020 season despite not getting drafted in the 2021 MLS draft.
| Player | Nationality | Position | College | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
References
- "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. ncaa.org. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- "UCA Men's Soccer Coaching Records" (PDF). Central Arkansas Athletics.
- "Shaun Docking - Men's Soccer Coach". Coastal Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- "John Murphy - Men's Soccer Coach". Georgia Southern University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- "Brett Surrency". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- "Phillip Gyau - Men's Soccer Coach". Howard University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- "2020 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Poll & Honors". Sun Belt Conference. August 27, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- "College Soccer News 2020 Preseason Top 30 National Poll". CollegeSoccerNews.com. August 27, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- "Georgia State Takes Both SBC Men's Soccer Honors of the Week". sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- "Georgie State Takes Both SBC Men's Soccer Honors of the Week". Sun Belt Conference. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- "Georgie State Takes Both SBC Men's Soccer Honors of the Week". Sun Belt Conference. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- "SBC Announces Men's Soccer Weekly Honors". Sun Belt Conference. October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
- Conference, Sun Belt. "Players of the Week Honors and Sun Belt Championship Details Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
- Conference, Sun Belt. "Men's Soccer Players of the Week Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
- Conference, Sun Belt (November 4, 2020). "Men's Soccer Players of the Week Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- Conference, Sun Belt (November 10, 2020). "Men's Soccer Players of the Week Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- "Sun Belt Announces Men's Soccer 2020 Postseason Honors". Sun Belt Conference. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- "RSL Selects Aris Briggs from Georgia State University". RSL.com. Real Salt Lake. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- Parks, Chris (January 22, 2021). "CCU goalkeeper Tor Saunders drafted into the MLS". WBTW. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
External links
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