2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season

Last updated

2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season
Mid-American Conference logo.svg
League NCAA Division I
Sport Soccer
DurationAugust 30, 2019 – November 2, 2019
Number of teams6
2020 MLS SuperDraft
Top draft pickTom Smart, 45th overall
Picked by LA Galaxy
Regular Season
Season champions Akron
  Runners-up Western Michigan
Tournament
Champions West Virginia
  Runners-up Bowling Green
Mid-American Conference men's soccer seasons
 2018
2020 
2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Akron 4 0 16 10 2
Western Michigan 2 1 211 6 2
SIUE 2 1 28 5 4
Northern Illinois 2 3 07 10 1
Bowling Green 2 3 013 7 1
West Virginia0 4 110 9 2
As of 25 November 2019
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source: MAC

The 2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season will be the 27th season of men's varsity soccer in the Mid-American Conference.

Contents

Akron enters the season as the conference tournament champions. West Virginia enters the season as the defending conference regular season champions.

Background

Previous season

The 2018 season was the 26th season of men's varsity soccer in the Mid-American Conference. Akron won the 2018 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament against Western Michigan. [1] With the MAC Tournament title, Akron earned an automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. MAC regular season champions, West Virginia, earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. West Virginia and Akron were unseeded in the tournament meaning both programs began in the first round.

In the tournament, West Virginia advanced past LIU Brooklyn before losing in Georgetown in the second round. Akron reached the NCAA College Cup for the second consecutive season, and for the sixth time in program history. This came after defeating Rider, Syracuse, Wake Forest, three-time defending champions Stanford, and Michigan State. In the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game, Akron lost to Maryland, 0–1 off of a penalty kick from Amar Sejdič. [2] [3]

Coaching changes

Ahead of the 2019 season, SIUE head coach Mario Sanchez was hired by professional soccer club, Louisville City FC. [4] Cale Wassermann was hired to replace Sanchez. [5]

SchoolOutgoing coachManner of
departure
Date of
vacancy
Position in tableIncoming coachDate of
appointment
SIU Edwardsville Flag of the United States.svg Mario Sanchez Hired by Louisville City FC November 30, 2018Preseason Flag of the United States.svg Cale Wassermann January 17, 2019

Teams

TeamLocationStadiumCapacityCoachUniforms supplier
Akron Zips Akron, Ohio FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field 4,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jared Embick Flag of Germany.svg adidas
Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green, Ohio Cochrane Stadium 1,000 Flag of the United States.svg Eric Nichols Flag of the United States.svg Nike
Northern Illinois Huskies DeKalb, Illinois NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex 1,500 Flag of Scotland.svg Ryan Swan Flag of Germany.svg adidas
SIU Edwardsville Cougars Edwardsville, Illinois Ralph Korte Stadium 4,000 Flag of the United States.svg Cale Wassermann Flag of Germany.svg adidas
West Virginia Mountaineers Morgantown, West Virginia Dlesk Stadium 1,600 Flag of the United States.svg Marlon LeBlanc Flag of the United States.svg Nike
Western Michigan Broncos Kalamazoo, Michigan WMU Soccer Complex 500 Flag of the United States.svg Chad Wiseman Flag of Germany.svg adidas

Preseason

Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 26, 2019. [6]

Team RankingPointsFirst
1.Akron355
2.Western Michigan271
3.West Virginia220
4.SIUE150
5.Bowling Green140
6.Northern Illinois130

Preseason national polls

The preseason national polls were released in July and August 2019. United Soccer Coaches, Soccer America, and TopDrawer Soccer have a Top 25 poll, while College Soccer News has a Top 30 poll.

United
Soccer
[7]
CSN [8] Soccer
America
[9]
Top Drawer
Soccer
[10]
Akron3322
Bowling Green
Northern Illinois
SIUE
West Virginia2322
Western Michigan

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Early season tournaments will be announced in late Spring and Summer 2019.

TeamTournamentFinish
Bowling GreenChicago Classic1st
SIUEMichigan Classic3rd
Western MichiganBronco Soccer Fest1st

Conference results

Color Key: Home Away Win Loss Draw Postponed
ClubMatch
12345
Akron Zips
(AKR)
BGSUWMUSIUENIUWVU
OctOctOctOctNov
Bowling Green Falcons
(BGSU)
TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
OctOctOctOctNov
Northern Illinois Huskies
(NIU)
TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
OctOctOctOctNov
SIU Edwardsville Cougars
(SIUE)
TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
OctOctOctOctNov
West Virginia Mountaineers
(WVU)
TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
OctOctOctOctNov
Western Michigan Broncos
(WMU)
TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
OctOctOctOctNov

Standings

ConferenceOverallQualification
PosTeamPldWLTGFGAGDPtsPldWLTGFGAGDPts
1 Akron 5401104+6131861022123220 2019 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament
2 Bowling Green 0000000000000000
3 Northern Illinois 0000000000000000
4 SIUE 0000000000000000
5 West Virginia 0000000000000000
6 Western Michigan 0000000000000000

Updated to match(es) played on August 3, 2019. Source: MAC

Postseason

MAC Tournament

The 2019 MAC Tournament was held from November 12–17, 2019.

First Round Semifinals Championship
1 Akron 0
4 Bowling Green24 Bowling Green1
5 Northern Illinois 1 4 Bowling Green 0
6 West Virginia1
2 Western Michigan 2
3 SIUE 0 3 West Virginia3
6 West Virginia1

NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament will begin in November 2019 and conclude on December 17, 2019.

SeedRegionSchool1st Round2nd Round3rd RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship

Rankings

National rankings

  Improvement in ranking
 Drop in ranking
RVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NVNo votes received
 PreWk
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
Akron USC 321RVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS 2212NVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Bowling Green USC NVRV25RVRVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Northern Illinois USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
SIUE USC NVRVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
West Virginia USC 2321RV20RV23RVNVNVNVNone released
TDS 252524NVRVNVNVNVNVNV
Western Michigan USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVRVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV

Regional rankings - USC North Region

  Improvement in ranking
 Drop in ranking
RVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 10
NVNo votes received

The United Soccer Coaches' North Region includes teams from the Mid-American Conference, the Big Ten Conference, and the Horizon League.

 Wk
1
Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Akron6NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Bowling Green825797898
Northern IllinoisNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
SIUE58NVNVNVNV1066
West Virginia342623910NV
Western MichiganNVNVNVNVNV10744

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

WeekPlayerPositionTeamRef.
Week 1Noah HeimGKSIUE [11]
Week 2Anthony BowieFWWestern Michigan [12]
Achille Robin DFBowling Green
Week 3Robles GrajerFWWest Virginia [13]
Week 4Jorge GonzalezFWSIUE [14]
Week 5Andres Muriel AlbinoMFWest Virginia [15]
Week 6Anthony BowieFWWestern Michigan [16]
Week 7 Charlie Sharp MFWestern Michigan [17]
Week 8Alex WelchMFNorthern Illinois
Week 9
Week 10

Postseason honors

2019 MAC Men's Soccer Individual Awards
AwardRecipient(s)
Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Midfielder of the Year
Goalkeeper of the Year
Coach of the Year
Freshman of the Year
2019 MAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team HonoreesSecond Team HonoreesAll-Freshman Team HonoreesSportsmanship Award Honorees

National awards

AwardWinnerSchoolRef.

2020 MLS Draft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft will be held in January 2020.

Rnd.PickPlayerPos.TeamSchool

Homegrown players

The Homegrown Player Rule is a Major League Soccer program that allows MLS teams to sign local players from their own development academies directly to MLS first team rosters. Before the creation of the rule in 2008, [18] every player entering Major League Soccer had to be assigned through one of the existing MLS player allocation processes, such as the MLS SuperDraft.

To place a player on its homegrown player list, making him eligible to sign as a homegrown player, players must have resided in that club's home territory and participated in the club's youth development system for at least one year. [19] Players can play college soccer and still be eligible to sign a homegrown contract.

Original MLS teamPlayerPos.SchoolRef.

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References

  1. Fagerlin, A. J. (November 13, 2017). "Zips Claim 14th MAC Tournament Title in Victory over Western Michigan". The Buchtelite. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  2. "Maryland beats Akron to win men's soccer title". ESPN.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  3. Bryant, Victor. "Maryland wins its fourth men's soccer national championship by beating Akron, 1-0, on second-half penalty kick". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  4. "Mario Sanchez resigns as SIUE men's soccer head coach position". EdGlenToday.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  5. "MEN'S SOCCER: Cale Wassermann named SIUE men's soccer coach". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. January 18, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  6. "Akron Selected to Capture 2019 MAC Men's Soccer Title". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  7. "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Men — National Pre-Season Poll — August 6, 2019". United Soccer Coaches. August 6, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  8. "College Soccer News 2019 Preseason National Poll". collegesoccernews.com. CollegeSoccerNews.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  9. "Soccer America Men's College Preseason Top 25". socceramerica.com. Soccer America. August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  10. "College Soccer National Ranking - Preseason". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  11. "Heim Tabbed as Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  12. "Bowie and Robin Share Player of the Week Honors". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  13. "Robles Grajera Honored as Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  14. "Gonzalez Named Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  15. "Muriel Albino Named Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  16. "Western Michigan's Bowie Earns MAC Player of the Week Honors". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  17. "Sharp Named MAC Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  18. "MLS Draft 2013: Homegrown player initiative rises as draft declines". Sporting News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  19. "MLS 2012 Roster Rules". Archived from the original on February 20, 2012.