2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season

The 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 53rd year of organized men's college soccer in the United States.

NCAA Division I

Season	2011
Champions	North Carolina
Top goalscorer	Ashton Bennett (23)
Highest attendance	13,772 SDSU v. UCSB (September 23, 2011)[1]
← 2010 2012 →

The season was divided into three parts; the regular season, which started with early season tournaments against intraconference opponents, before the second half of the regular season that featured interconference matches. The regular season was held from late August to early November 2011. In mid-November, the conference tournaments were held, and from mid-November to mid-December, the NCAA Tournament was held.

The national champion was the North Carolina Tar Heels whom won the title against the Charlotte 49ers. It was North Carolina's third national championship, and Charlotte's first ever appearance in an NCAA final of any sport.

Season headlines

Throughout the course of the regular season, six different men's college soccer programs topped the rankings. The Connecticut Huskies were ranked first for four consecutive weeks, being the longest streak to do so in the season. At the end of the regular season, the New Mexico Lobos were the only college team in the nation to remain undefeated, winning 16 matches and only drawing twice.

Changes from 2010

Coaching changes

The following is a list of head coaching changes prior to the start of Division I men's soccer season.[2]

College	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Incoming coach	Former position
Albany	Johan Aarnio	Fired	Trevor Gorman	Wright State assistant coach
Butler	Kelly Findley	Hired as N.C. State head coach	Paul Snape	Michigan associate coach
Canisius	Jim Hesch	Fired	Dermont McGrane	Niagara head coach
Creighton	Jamie Clark	Hired as Washington head coach	Elmar Bolowich	North Carolina head coach
Hartford	Dan Gaspar	Fired	TBA
NC State	George Tarantini	Fired	Kelly Findley	Butler head coach
Niagara	Dermot McGrane	Hired as Canisius head coach	Chase Brooks	Dayton assistant coach
NJIT	Pedro Lopes	Fired	Cesar Markovic	Stony Brook head coach
North Carolina	Elmar Bolowich	Hired as Creighton head coach	Carlos Somoano	Interim coach
North Florida	Ray Bunch	Fired	Derek Marinatos	Furman associate coach
Rider	Russ Fager	Fired	Charlie Inverso	Rutgers assistant coach
St. Peter's	Guy Abrahamson	Fired	Julian Richens	Rider assistant coach
Stony Brook	Cesar Markovic	Hired has NJIT head coach	Ryan Anatol	South Florida assistant coach
Washington	Dean Wurzberger	Fired	Jamie Clark	Creighton head coach

Rule changes

Season overview

Pre-season polls

Main article: 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings

Several American soccer outlets posted their own preseason top 25 rankings of what were believed to be the strongest men's collegiate soccer teams entering 2011.

NSCAA[3] Ranking Team 1 Louisville 2 Akron 3 North Carolina 4 Maryland 5 SMU 6 UCLA 7 California 8 Connecticut 9 Michigan 10 Creighton 11 Brown 12 Notre Dame 13 William & Mary 14 UC Santa Barbara 15 Ohio State 16 South Carolina 17 Indiana 18 Penn State 19 Michigan State 20 Dartmouth 21 Butler 22 Virginia 23 Duke 24 UC Irvine 25 Boston College

Soccer America[4] Ranking Team 1 Louisville 2 UCLA 3 North Carolina 4 Akron 5 Connecticut 6 Creighton 7 SMU 8 Maryland 9 Notre Dame 10 UC Santa Barbara 11 Virginia 12 Duke 13 Wake Forest 14 Brown 15 Ohio State 16 South Florida 17 West Virginia 18 Indiana 19 UCF 20 California 21 Monmouth 22 FGCU 23 Boston College 24 Loyola Marymount 25 Old Dominion

Fox Soccer/SBI[5] Ranking Team 1 Louisville 2 UCLA 3 Akron 4 North Carolina 5 Maryland 6 SMU 7 Creighton 8 Connecticut 9 Duke 10 UC Santa Barbara 11 Virginia 12 Notre Dame 13 Ohio State 14 Wake Forest 15 West Virginia 16 Indiana 17 South Florida 18 Penn State 19 Boston College 20 Furman 21 California 22 Monmouth 23 William & Mary 24 Michigan 25 FGCU

Regular season

Early season tournaments

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Name	Dates	Num. teams	Champions
ShinDigz Soccer Festival	Aug. 18–20	2	Akron Creighton
Cal State Northridge Labor Day Classic	Sept. 1–3	4	Akron
Hokie Invitational	Sept. 2–4	4	Virginia
Ocean State Classic	Sept. 2–4	4	Brown
VCU Invitational	Sept. 2–4	4	VCU
Brown Soccer Classic	Sept. 8–12	4	Brown
Hurricane Classic	Sept. 8–12	4	Connecticut
Stihl Soccer Classic	Sept. 8–12	4	Old Dominion
Akron Soccer Tournament	Sept. 16–18	4	Akron

Conference standings

Key

  Team won conference tournament and automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
  Team earned a berth in NCAA tournament through an at-large bid
  Qualified conference tournament, but did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Conference regular season and tournament winners

Thirty athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular-season champion.

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
America East	Boston University	2011 America East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Nickerson Field (Boston, Massachusetts)	Stony Brook
Atlantic Coast	North Carolina	2011 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament	WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Atlantic Ten	Charlotte	2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Hermann Stadium (St. Louis, Missouri)	Xavier
Atlantic Soccer	Florida Atlantic	No tournament
Atlantic Sun	FGCU	2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Summers-Taylor Stadium (Johnson City, Tennessee)	FGCU
Big East	Blue: Marquette Red: USF	2011 Big East Men's Soccer Tournament	Red Bull Arena (Harrison, New Jersey)	St. John's
Big South	Coastal Carolina	2011 Big South Men's Soccer Tournament	Greene-Harbison Field (Boiling Springs, North Carolina)	Liberty
Big Ten	Northwestern	2011 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	U-M Soccer Stadium (Ann Arbor, Michigan)	Northwestern
Big West	UC Irvine	2011 Big West Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Anteater Stadium (Irvine, California)	UC Irvine
Colonial	James Madison	2011 CAA Men's Soccer Tournament	JMU Lacrosse/Soccer Complex (Harrisonburg, Virginia)	Delaware
Conference USA	UAB	2011 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament	Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium (Tulsa, Oklahoma)	SMU
Horizon	Valparaiso	2011 Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament	Eastgate Field (Valparaiso, Indiana)	Loyola
Ivy	Brown	No tournament
Metro Atlantic	Fairfield	2011 MAAC Men's Soccer Tournament	Hess Field (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)	Fairfield Stags men's soccer
Mid-American	Akron	2011 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament	FirstEnergy Stadium (Akron, Ohio)	Northern Illinois
Missouri Valley	Missouri State	2011 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Morrison Stadium (Omaha, Nebraska)	Creighton
Mountain Pacific	New Mexico	2011 MPSF Men's Soccer Tournament	CIBER Field (Denver, Colorado)	New Mexico
Northeast	Central Connecticut State	2011 Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	The Great Lawn (West Long Branch, New Jersey)	Monmouth
Pac-12	UCLA	2011 Pac-12 Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Maloney Field (Stanford, California)	UCLA
Patriot	American	2011 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament	Tournament venue (Tournament City, State)	Colgate
Southern	UNC Greensboro	2011 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Tournament venue (Tournament City, State)	Elon
Summit	Western Illinois	2011 The Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament	Tournament venue (Tournament City, State)	Western Illinois
West Coast	Saint Mary's	2011 West Coast Conference Men's Soccer Tournament	Tournament venue (Tournament City, State)	Saint Mary's

Major upsets

In this list, a "major upset" is defined by a team that's ranked 10 or more spots lower, or an unranked team that defeats a team ranked #15 or higher.

Date	Winner	Score	Loser
September 2	Providence	1–0	#11 Brown
September 4	UC Davis	2–1	#6 UCLA
September 11	Virginia Tech	1–0	#1 North Carolina
September 11	ESTU	2–0	#14 William & Mary
September 24	George Mason	1–0	#15 Old Dominion
October 5	#20 San Diego State	3–2	#3 Akron
October 7	#23 Virginia	2–1	#2 Maryland
October 12	Missouri State	1–0	#4 Creighton
October 17	Davidson	1–0	#2 North Carolina

Key matches

Statistical leaders

Overall

Top scorers

Rank	Scorer	College	Goals[6]
1	Ashton Bennett	Coastal Carolina	23
2	Darren Mattocks	Akron	21
3	Mark Sherrod	Memphis	19
4	Chandler Hoffman	UCLA	18
	Gyasi Zardes	CSU Bakersfield	18
6	Luis Silva	UC Santa Barbara	17
	Casey Townsend	Maryland	17
	Andrew Wenger	Duke	17
9	Dom Dwyer	South Florida	16
	Billy Schuler	North Carolina	16
	Yannick Smith	Old Dominion	16

Last updated on December 23, 2011. Source: NCAA.com - Total Goals

Most assists

Rank	Scorer	College	Goals[7]
1	Franklin Castellanos	Iona	14
2	Jesus Sanchez	CSU Bakersfield	13
3	Christopher Tweed-Kent	Duke	12
4	Scott Caldwell	Akron Zips	11
	Liam Collins	Memphis	11
	Enzo Martinez	North Carolina	11
	Juan Peralta	Vermont	11

Last updated on December 23, 2011. Source: NCAA.com - Total Assists

Per match

Points Per Game[8]				Goals Per Game[9]				Assists Per Game[10]				Saves Per Game[11]
Player	School	PPG		Player	School	GPG		Player	School	APG		Player	School	SVPG
Ashton Bennett	Coastal Carolina	2.41		Mark Sherrod	Memphis	1.06		Franklin Castellanos	Iona	0.74		John McCarthy	La Salle	7.94
Mark Sherrod	Memphis	2.33		Ashton Bennett	Coastal Carolina	1.05		Juan Peralta	Vermont	0.65		Lassi Hurskainen	UNC Asheville	6.68
Max Touloute	IPFW	2.19		Darren Mattocks	Akron	0.95		Jesus Sanchez	CSU Bakersfield	0.62		Thomas Hand	Richmond	6.64
Darren Mattocks	Akron	2.09		Gyasi Zardes	CSU Bakersfield	0.90		Liam Collins	Memphis	0.61		Taylor Feuerstein	VMI	6.50
Luis Silva	UC Santa Barbara	2.00		Yannick Smith	Old Dominion	0.84		Matt Lodge	Kentucky	0.59		Andrew D'Ottavi	Saint Joseph's	6.33

Save Percentage[12]				Goals Against Average[13]				Goalkeeper Min. Played				Saves[14]
Player	School	SV%		Player	School	GAA		Player	School	MP		Player	School	SV%
Brian Holt	Creighton	.923		Brian Holt	Creighton	.207						John McCarthy	La Salle	143
Graham Heydt	Lafayette	.908		Andre Blake	Connecticut	.385						Lassi Hurskainen	UNC Asheville	127
Ciaran Nugent	Lehigh	.896		Ciaran Nugent	Lehigh	.412						George Ellis	Manhattan	110
Andre Blake	Connecticut	.888		Victor Rodriguez	New Mexico	.493						Jonathan Lester	San Jose State	105
Darius Motazed	Saint Francis (Pa.)	.882		Graham Heydt	Lafayette	.504						Brendan Roslund	San Francisco	101

NCAA tournament

College Cup – Hoover, Alabama

	National Semifinals December 9					National Championship December 11
	1	North Carolina	2(3)
	13	UCLA	2(1)
						1	North Carolina	1
							Charlotte	0
		Charlotte	0(4)
	2	Creighton	0(1)

Award winners

NSCAA/Continental Tire Men's NCAA Division I All-America Team

On December 9, 2011, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America released their All-American teams for the 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The list included a first, second and third team.[15]

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Brian Holt (Creighton) 2 DF Chris Estridge (Indiana) 3 DF Matt Hedges (North Carolina) 4 DF Charles Rodriguez (Charlotte) 5 MF Miguel Ibarra (UC Irvine) 6 MF Enzo Martinez (North Carolina) 7 MF Luis Silva (UC Santa Barbara) 8 FW Ashton Bennett (Coastal Carolina) 9 FW Ethan Finlay (Creighton) 10 FW Billy Schuler (North Carolina) 11 FW Andrew Wenger (Duke)

Second team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Brian Rowe (UCLA) 2 DF R. J. Allen (Monmouth) 3 DF Andrew Duran (Creighton) 4 DF Kyle Venter (New Mexico) 5 MF Carlos Alvarez (Connecticut) 6 MF Greg Jordan (Creighton) 7 MF Lance Rozeboom (New Mexico) 8 MF Paul Wyatt (James Madison) 9 FW Dom Dwyer (South Florida) 10 FW Evans Frimpong (Delaware) 11 FW Darren Mattocks (Akron) 12 FW Casey Townsend (Maryland)

Third team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Andre Blake (Connecticut) 2 DF Austin Berry (Louisville) 3 DF Eric Schoenle (West Virginia) 4 DF Walker Zimmerman (Furman) 5 MF Scott Caldwell (Akron) 6 MF Jonathan Mendoza (Stetson) 7 MF Pedro Ribeiro (Coastal Carolina) 8 MF John Stertzer (Maryland) 9 FW Chandler Hoffman (UCLA) 10 FW Mark Sherrod (Memphis) 11 FW Yannick Smith (Old Dominion) 12 FW Gyasi Zardes (CSU Bakersfield)

See also

• College soccer
• 2011 in American soccer
• 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship

References

1. "San Diego at UC Santa Barbara". UCSBGauchos.com. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
2. "Men's Division I college coaching changes". Soccer America. SoccerAmerica.com. April 11, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
3. "NCAA Division I Men's Soccer: 2011 Preseason Rankings". National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 9, 2011. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
4. "Soccer America Men's Preseason Top 25". Soccer America. SoccerAmerica.com. August 22, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
5. Garlarcep, Ives (August 26, 2011). "Soccer America Men's Preseason Top 25". Soccer By Ives. FoxSoccer.com. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
6. "Total Goals". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
7. "Total Assists". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
8. "Points Per Game". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
9. "Goals Per Game". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
10. "Assists Per Game". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
11. "Saves Per Game". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
12. "Saves Pct". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
13. "Goals Against Average". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. January 25, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
14. "Total Saves". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. January 25, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
15. "2011 NSCAA/Continental Tire Men's NCAA Division I All-America Team". SoccerAmerica. SoccerAmerica.com. December 9, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.

External links