2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season

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
2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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

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]

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

Teams
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

Preseason poll

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

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 Virginia232—2
Western Michigan— ———

Regular season

Early season tournaments

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
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
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

MAC Tournament
Main article: 2019 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament

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
Main article: 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament

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

National rankings
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NV No 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 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
    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

Player of the week honors
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
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
Award Winner School Ref.

2020 MLS Draft
Main article: 2020 MLS SuperDraft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft will be held in January 2020.

Rnd. Pick Player Pos. Team School

Homegrown players
Further information: Homegrown Player Rule (Major League Soccer)

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.
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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. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  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 2019-05-14.
  4. "Mario Sanchez resigns as SIUE men's soccer head coach position". EdGlenToday.com. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  5. "MEN'S SOCCER: Cale Wassermann named SIUE men's soccer coach". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  6. "Akron Selected to Capture 2019 MAC Men's Soccer Title". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  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. 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 2019-09-03.
  12. "Bowie and Robin Share Player of the Week Honors". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  13. "Robles Grajera Honored as Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  14. "Gonzalez Named Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  15. "Muriel Albino Named Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  16. "Western Michigan's Bowie Earns MAC Player of the Week Honors". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  17. "Sharp Named MAC Men's Soccer Player of the Week". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  18. "MLS Draft 2013: Homegrown player initiative rises as draft declines". Sporting News.
  19. "MLS 2012 Roster Rules". Archived from the original on 2012-02-20.
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