2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season

Last updated

2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
Sun Belt Conference 2020 logo and name.svg
League NCAA Division I
Sport Soccer
Teams9
Regular Season
Tournament
Sun Belt Conference men's soccer seasons
2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Kentucky5 0 315 1 5
No. 12 Marshall+ 4 1 311 4 4
Georgia State 4 2 212 4 3
West Virginia 3 1 47 7 4
Coastal Carolina 2 1 55 5 6
Old Dominion 3 4 16 8 2
James Madison 2 3 38 8 4
South Carolina 1 4 35 8 4
Georgia Southern 0 8 01 14 1
As of December 13, 2022
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source: Sun Belt

The 2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season was the 20th season of men's varsity soccer in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), marking the return of SBC men's soccer after a one-season hiatus. [1] The season ended with the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament.

Contents

Background

A major conference realignment initially triggered in July 2021 when Oklahoma and Texas announced their plans to leave the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference eventually led to the reinstatement of Sun Belt men's soccer. Further moves in this realignment cycle saw three men's soccer schools announce that they would join the SBC no later than 2023: Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) member James Madison, and then-reigning national champion Marshall and Old Dominion from Conference USA (C-USA). Accordingly, league commissioner Keith Gill announced on November 1, 2021, that SBC men's soccer would be reinstated no later than 2023. [2]

Shortly after James Madison announced its departure for the SBC, the CAA invoked a provision of its bylaws to bar JMU from its conference championship events. This led the SBC to announce on February 2, 2022, that JMU would join the conference in July 2022 instead of 2023. [3] The following month saw a legal dispute between C-USA and the three schools set to leave that league for the SBC (Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, with Southern Miss sponsoring soccer only for women) over their departure date. On March 29, C-USA and those schools reached a settlement that allowed them to join the SBC in July 2022. [4] A little more than a week later on April 6, the SBC announced that men's soccer would be reinstated in 2022. The three incoming members were joined by existing full members Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, and Georgia State plus new associate members Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia. [5]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
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
James Madison Dukes Harrisonburg, Virginia Sentara Park 1,500
Kentucky Wildcats Lexington, Kentucky Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex 3,368
Marshall Thundering Herd Huntington, West Virginia Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex 1,006
Old Dominion Monarchs Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion Soccer Complex 4,000
South Carolina Gamecocks Columbia, South Carolina Stone Stadium 5,700
West Virginia Mountaineers Morgantown, West Virginia Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium 1,600

Head coaches

Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2021 season

TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordRecord at schoolSBC recordNCAA
Tournaments [6]
NCAA
College Cups [6]
NCAA
Titles [6]
Coastal Carolina Shaun Docking Charleston Southern 24318–159–45 (.652)298–140–43 (.664)17–7–1 (.700)1500
Georgia Southern John Murphy Anderson (SC) 7102–97–25 (.511)36–53–10 (.414)10–13–2 (.440)000
Georgia State Brett Surrency Jacksonville (asst.)12123–88–18 (.576)123–88–16 (.577)21–11–3 (.643)300
James Madison Paul Zazenski James Madison (asst.)5112–41–14 (.713)42–18–10 (.671)0–0–0 (–)300
Kentucky Johan Cedergren Dartmouth (asst.)11116–54–26 (.658)116–54–26 (.658)0–0–0 (–)800
Marshall Chris Grassie Charleston (WV) 6155–48–22 (.738)56–28–14 (.643)0–0–0 (–)311
Old Dominion Alan Dawson North Carolina (asst.)25380–190–57 (.652)251–160–46 (.600)0–0–0 (–)1200
South Carolina Tony Annan Atlanta United Academy 25–9–2 (.375)5–9–2 (.375)0–0–0 (–)000
West Virginia Dan Stratford Charleston (WV) 379–10–12 (.842)18–6–7 (.694)0–0–0 (–)100

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Rankings
TeamTDSCSNSignees
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
James Madison
Kentucky
Marshall
Old Dominion
South Carolina
West Virginia

Preseason Coaches polls

The 2022 SBC Preseason Poll was released on August 15, 2022. The league's head coaches ranked West Virginia as the preseason favorite, with 5 out of 9 first place votes. [7] Full results of the poll are shown below:

Predicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)
1West Virginia5
2Marshall3
3Kentucky1
4South Carolina
T-5Coastal Carolina
T-5James Madison
7Georgia State
8Old Dominion
9Georgia Southern

Preseason awards

All−American Teams

USC 1st TeamUSC 2nd TeamTDS 1st TeamTDS 2nd TeamCSN 1st TeamCSN 2nd Team

Preseason All SBC

PositionPlayerClassSchool
GoalkeeperOliver Semmle5th YearMarshall
DefenderLuis GrassowSeniorKentucky
Robert Screen5th YearKentucky
Gabriel AlvesJuniorMarshall
Bjarne ThiesenJuniorWest Virginia
MidfielderRoss FinnieSeniorGeorgia State
Rodrigo RoblesJuniorJames Madison
Vinicius Fernandes5th YearMarshall
Forward Álvaro García Pascual SophomoreCoastal Carolina
Luca ErhardtSeniorJames Madison
Eythor BjorgolfssonSeniorKentucky
Milo YosefSeniorMarshall

Preseason exhibitions

DateTimeVisiting teamHome teamSiteTVResultAttendanceRef.
August 127:00 p.m.No. 14 Marshall Rio Grande (OH) Evan Davis Soccer FieldRio Grande, OH  Not reported   
August 127:00 p.m. UNCG Old Dominion ODU Soccer ComplexNorfolk, VA T 0–0   
August 127:00 p.m.No. 6 West Virginia Duquesne Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA  Not reported   
August 137:00 p.m.James Madison VCU Sports Backers StadiumRichmond, VA ESPN+  Not reported   
August 147:00 p.m.No. 15  Wake Forest Coastal Carolina CCU Soccer FieldConway, SC T 1–1   
August 147:00 p.m. Winthrop Georgia Southern Eagle Field at Erk ParkStatesboro, GA     
August 147:15 p.m. Radford No. 14 Marshall Hoops Family FieldHuntington, WV     
August 1611:00 a.m. Richard Bland Old DominionODU Soccer Complex • Norfolk, VAW 6–0   
August 163:00 p.m. Navy James Madison Sentara ParkHarrisonburg, VA     
August 177:00 p.m.No. 19  Virginia Tech No. 6 West Virginia Dick Dlesk Soccer StadiumMorgantown, WV (Rivalry) B12N+     
August 197:00 p.m.Georgia Southern North Georgia UNG Soccer FieldDahlonega, GA     
August 197:00 p.m.No. 24  North Carolina James MadisonSentara Park • Harrisonburg, VA    
August 197:30 p.m.No. 14 MarshallNo. 20  Maryland Ludwig FieldCollege Park, MD BTN+ L 1–2  2,393
August 207:00 p.m. NC State Coastal CarolinaCCU Soccer Field • Conway, SC    
August 207:00 p.m.Old Dominion UNCW UNCW Soccer StadiumWilmington, NC     
August 207:00 p.m.No. 6 West VirginiaNo. 15 Wake Forest Spry StadiumWinston-Salem, NC ACCNX T 0–0   
#Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. All times are in Eastern Time.

Regular season

The regular season will begin on August 25, 2022.

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
Coastal Carolina USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CSN NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Georgia Southern USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CSN NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Georgia State USC RVNVNVRVRVRVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CSN 30NVNVNVRVNVNVNVNV
James Madison USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CSN NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Kentucky USC 865655322None released
TDS 15119664334
CSN 1063575533
Marshall USC 14118743646None released
TDS RV1813995748
CSN 171211886846
Old Dominion USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CSN NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
South Carolina USC NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CSN NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
West Virginia USC 61823NVNVNVNVNVNVNone released
TDS 741021NVNVNVNVNV
CSN 5329RVNVNVNVNVNV

Regional rankings - USC Southeast Region

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

The United Soccer Coaches' Southeast region ranks teams across the Atlantic 10 Conferences.

 Wk
1
Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Coastal Carolina67NVNVNVNVNVNV
Georgia SouthernNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Georgia State96655576
James Madison10NVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Kentucky31222111
Marshall12111222
Old DominionNVNVNVNVNVNVNV10
South CarolinaNVNV9108788
West Virginia2577NVNVNVNV

References

  1. "Sun Belt Conference Announces Return of Men's Soccer This Fall". April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  2. Traylor, Grant (November 1, 2021). "Sun Belt confirms men's soccer being reinstated". The Herald-Dispatch. Huntington, WV. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  3. "James Madison to Compete in the Sun Belt Conference Beginning Fall 2022" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  4. Thamel, Pete (March 29, 2022). "Move of Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss from Conference USA to Sun Belt now complete". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  5. "Sun Belt Conference Announces Return of Men's Soccer This Fall" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association . ncaa.org. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  7. "Sun Belt Announces Men's Soccer Preseason Awards & Poll". sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.