2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season

Summary

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

2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportSoccer
DurationAugust 30, 2019 – November 2, 2019
Number of teams6
2020 MLS SuperDraft
Top draft pickTom Smart, 45th overall
Picked byLA Galaxy
Regular Season
Season championsAkron
  Runners-upWestern Michigan
Tournament
ChampionsWest Virginia
  Runners-upBowling Green
Mid-American Conference men's soccer seasons
← 2018
2020 →
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  • t
  • e
  • Conf Overall
    Team W   L   T W   L   T
    Akron 4 0 1 6 10 2
    Western Michigan 2 1 2 11 6 2
    SIUE 2 1 2 8 5 4
    Northern Illinois 2 3 0 7 10 1
    Bowling Green 2 3 0 13 7 1
    West Virginia 0 4 1 10 9 2
    As of 25 November 2019
    Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
    Source: MAC

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

    Background edit

    Previous season edit

    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 edit

    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]

    School Outgoing coach Manner of
    departure
    Date of
    vacancy
    Position in table Incoming coach Date of
    appointment
    SIU Edwardsville   Mario Sanchez Hired by Louisville City FC November 30, 2018 Preseason   Cale Wassermann January 17, 2019

    Teams edit

    Team Location Stadium Capacity Coach Uniforms supplier
    Akron Zips Akron, Ohio FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field 4,000   Jared Embick   adidas
    Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green, Ohio Cochrane Stadium 1,000   Eric Nichols   Nike
    Northern Illinois Huskies DeKalb, Illinois NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex 1,500   Ryan Swan   adidas
    SIU Edwardsville Cougars Edwardsville, Illinois Ralph Korte Stadium 4,000   Cale Wassermann   adidas
    West Virginia Mountaineers Morgantown, West Virginia Dlesk Stadium 1,600   Marlon LeBlanc   Nike
    Western Michigan Broncos Kalamazoo, Michigan WMU Soccer Complex 500   Chad Wiseman   adidas

    Preseason edit

    Preseason poll edit

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

    Team Ranking Points First
    1. Akron 35 5
    2. Western Michigan 27 1
    3. West Virginia 22 0
    4. SIUE 15 0
    5. Bowling Green 14 0
    6. Northern Illinois 13 0

    Preseason national polls edit

    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]
    Akron 3 3 2 2
    Bowling Green
    Northern Illinois
    SIUE
    West Virginia 23 2 2
    Western Michigan

    Regular season edit

    Early season tournaments edit

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

    Team Tournament Finish
    Bowling Green Chicago Classic 1st
    SIUE Michigan Classic 3rd
    Western Michigan Bronco Soccer Fest 1st

    Conference results edit

    Color Key: Home  • Away  • Win  • Loss  • Draw  • Postponed
    Club Match
    1 2 3 4 5
    Akron Zips
    (AKR)
    BGSU WMU SIUE NIU WVU
    Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov
    Bowling Green Falcons
    (BGSU)
    TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
    Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov
    Northern Illinois Huskies
    (NIU)
    TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
    Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov
    SIU Edwardsville Cougars
    (SIUE)
    TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
    Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov
    West Virginia Mountaineers
    (WVU)
    TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
    Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov
    Western Michigan Broncos
    (WMU)
    TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
    Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov

    Standings edit

    Conference Overall Qualification
    Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
    1 Akron 5 4 0 1 10 4 +6 13 18 6 10 2 21 23 −2 20 2019 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament
    2 Bowling Green 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    3 Northern Illinois 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    4 SIUE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    5 West Virginia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    6 Western Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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


    Postseason edit

    MAC Tournament edit

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

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

    NCAA Tournament edit

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

    Seed Region School 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship

    Rankings edit

    National rankings edit

        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
    Akron USC 3 21 RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV None released
    TDS 2 2 12 NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
    Bowling Green USC NV RV 25 RV RV NV NV NV NV NV None released
    TDS NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
    Northern Illinois USC NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV None released
    TDS NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
    SIUE USC NV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV None released
    TDS NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
    West Virginia USC 23 21 RV 20 RV 23 RV NV NV NV None released
    TDS 25 25 24 NV RV NV NV NV NV NV
    Western Michigan USC NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV None released
    TDS NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV

    Regional rankings - USC North Region edit

        Improvement in ranking
      Drop in ranking
    RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10
    NV No 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
    Akron 6 NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
    Bowling Green 8 2 5 7 9 7 8 9 8
    Northern Illinois NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
    SIUE 5 8 NV NV NV NV 10 6 6
    West Virginia 3 4 2 6 2 3 9 10 NV
    Western Michigan NV NV NV NV NV 10 7 4 4

    Awards and honors edit

    Player of the week honors edit

    Week Player Position Team Ref.
    Week 1 Noah Heim GK SIUE [11]
    Week 2 Anthony Bowie FW Western Michigan [12]
    Achille Robin DF Bowling Green
    Week 3 Robles Grajer FW West Virginia [13]
    Week 4 Jorge Gonzalez FW SIUE [14]
    Week 5 Andres Muriel Albino MF West Virginia [15]
    Week 6 Anthony Bowie FW Western Michigan [16]
    Week 7 Charlie Sharp MF Western Michigan [17]
    Week 8 Alex Welch MF Northern Illinois
    Week 9
    Week 10

    Postseason honors edit

    2019 MAC Men's Soccer Individual Awards
    Award Recipient(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 Honorees Second Team Honorees All-Freshman Team Honorees Sportsmanship Award Honorees

    National awards edit

    Award Winner School Ref.

    2020 MLS Draft edit

    The 2020 MLS SuperDraft will be held in January 2020.

    Rnd. Pick Player Pos. Team School

    Homegrown players edit

    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 team Player Pos. School Ref.

    References edit

    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.

    External links edit

    • MAC Men's Soccer