2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season Duration Fall season: September 17 – November 22, 2020 Spring season: February 3 – May 17, 2021 Number of teams 207 Top goalscorer Kimarni Smith (7) Biggest home win Oregon State 6–0 Eastern Oregon (02/03/2021)Highest scoring Duke 2–4 Kentucky (09/21/2020)Clemson 3-3 North Carolina (10/27/2020)Longest winning run 8 gamesMerrimack (10/04/2019–current) Longest unbeaten run 16 gamesSeattle (13-0-3) (09/23/2019–current) Longest winless run 23 gamesHarvard (0–22–1) (10/02/2018-current) Longest losing run 13 gamesEvansville (09/18–current) Highest attendance 1,000Duke @ Clemson (10/16/2020) Lowest attendance 0 (multiple closed door games) Duration April 30 to May 17, 2021 Date May 17, 2021 Site TBD
The 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season is the 62nd season of NCAA championship men's college soccer . The season was originally slated to begin on August 28, 2020 and conclude on November 15, 2020. The season was to culminate with the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament , which was to be held from November 18 to December 13, 2020, with the four-team College Cup at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, California .
On August 13, 2020, the NCAA Tournament was suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic .[ 1] Leading up to the postseason tournament suspension, some conferences had planned to play conference-only matches during the fall season, while some conferences opted to postpone the season to Spring 2021 (February to May 2021).[ 2] Ultimately, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Sun Belt Conference began play for the 2020 fall season; while a handful of programs scheduled competitive fixtures for the fall 2020 season: Army, Kentucky, Mercer, Navy, South Carolina, and UAB.
On September 16, 2020 the NCAA announced that the spring season will run from February 3 to April 17, 2021, culminating with the NCAA Tournament, which will be reduced from 48 to 36 teams for this season only. The postponed NCAA Tournament will begin on April 30 and conclude on May 17, 2021. The ACC and Sun Belt champions, who will be determined in November, will earn automatic bids into the tournament. Nevertheless, the fall season began with Notre Dame beating Kentucky, 1–0, on September 17, 2020.
Changes from 2019
Coaching changes
Program
Outgoing coach
Manner of departure
Date of vacancy
Incoming coach
Date of appointment
Central Connecticut
Shaun Green
Retired[ 3]
December 6, 2019
Dave Kelly (interim)
January 14, 2020[ 4]
Incarnate Word
Chris Fidler (interim)
Not retained after 2 seasons[ 5]
November 11, 2019
Kiki Lara
December 20, 2019[ 6]
George Mason
Greg Andrulis
Resigned[ 7]
November 13, 2019
Elmar Bolowich
January 13, 2020[ 8]
Boston U.
Neil Roberts
Retired[ 9]
November 18, 2019
Kevin Nylen
January 16, 2020[ 10]
Harvard
Pieter Lehrer
Fired[ 11]
November 18, 2019
Josh Shapiro
January 13, 2020[ 12]
UNC Asheville
Mathes Mennell
Resigned[ 13]
November 19, 2019
Mick Giordano (Interim)
February 7, 2020[ 14]
Valparaiso
Mike Avery
Program discontinued[ 15]
November 20, 2019
—
—
Boston College
Ed Kelly
Retired[ 16]
November 25, 2019
Bob Thompson
January 23, 2020[ 17]
Kansas City
Rick Benben
Retired[ 18]
December 2, 2019
Ryan Pore
January 14, 2020[ 19]
Drexel
Doug Hess
Fired[ 20]
December 3, 2019
Michael Marchiano
January 31, 2020[ 21]
San Diego State
Lev Kirshner
Fired[ 22]
December 6, 2019
Ryan Hopkins
January 21, 2020[ 23]
West Virginia
Marlon LeBlanc
Resigned[ 24]
December 12, 2019
Dan Stratford
January 20, 2020[ 25]
Eastern Illinois
Kiki Lara
Hired by Incarnate Word [ 26]
December 23, 2019
Ronnie Bouemboue
February 5, 2020[ 27]
Purdue Fort Wayne
Mike Harper
Resigned[ 28]
January 13, 2020
Stephen Gorton
February 14, 2020[ 29]
FIU
Kevin Nylen
Hired by Boston U. [ 10]
January 16, 2020
Kyle Russell
February 21, 2020[ 30]
Stetson
Cristian Neagu
Fired [ 31]
February 10, 2020
Emmett Rutkowski
February 26, 2020[ 32]
VMI
Charlie Hubbard
Hired by James Madison (asst.) [ 33]
March 5, 2020
Max Watson
March 23, 2020 [ 34]
Cincinnati
Hylton Dayes
Program discontinued[ 35]
April 14, 2020
—
—
Appalachian State
Jason O'Keefe
Program discontinued[ 36]
May 26, 2020
—
—
Chicago State
—
—
New program
Trevor Banks
July 20, 2020 [ 37]
New programs
On November 27, 2017, it was announced that, in 2020, the Tritons of the University of California, San Diego , located in the San Diego , California district of La Jolla , would begin the transition from Division II to Division I as a member of the Big West Conference .[ 38]
On January 11, 2019, it was announced that the Trailblazers of Dixie State University of St. George, Utah would begin the transition from Division II to Division I as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).[ 39]
On June 17, 2019, it was announced that the Knights of Bellarmine University of Louisville, Kentucky would begin the transition from Division II to Division I as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference .[ 40]
Chicago State University announced on June 23, 2020 that it would begin men's soccer effective immediately. The school had first committed to adding the sport when joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2014, and it budgeted for a team in 2016, but the school did not then begin play due to financial challenges and seriously discussed leaving Division I.[ 41] The decision to finally add men's soccer came at the same time the school dropped baseball due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cougars will play in their full-time home of the WAC [ 42] but will not begin conference play until 2021.[ 43]
On July 15, 2020, after months of consideration, the NCAA granted the highly unusual request of the University of St. Thomas to move directly from Division III to Division I. The school had already accepted an invitation to join the Summit League , and the Tommies will enter Division I and Summit League competition in 2021.[ 44]
Discontinued programs
On November 20, 2019, Valparaiso announced that the men's soccer and tennis teams would be eliminated to allow greater attention to the school's other sports teams.[ 15]
On April 14, 2020, Cincinnati announced that, due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the men's soccer program would be discontinued effective immediately.[ 35]
On May 26, 2020, Appalachian State , a Division I men's soccer power in the late 1970s, cut the men's soccer program and two other men's programs in response to the financial impact of COVID-19.[ 36]
Conference realignment
Other changes
In June 2020, the Missouri Valley Conference and SIU Edwardsville jointly announced that SIUE men's soccer would leave the Mid-American Conference and return to the MVC effective with the 2021 season.[ 51] While restoring the MVC to six teams, the move reduces the MAC to only five teams.
Season outlook
Preseason polls
College Soccer News [ 52]
Rank
Team
1
Georgetown
2
Stanford
3
Clemson
4
Wake Forest
5
SMU
6
Indiana
7
Virginia
8
UCF
9
Washington
10
Missouri State
11
UCSB
12
Maryland
13
Michigan
14
Virginia Tech
15
Marshall
16
Seattle U
17
St. John's
18
Louisville
19
Campbell
20
Penn State
21
Kentucky
22
Charlotte
23
UC Davis
24
Boston College
25
Yale
26
NC State
27
North Carolina
28
Pitt
29
California
30
Akron
Top Drawer Soccer [2]
Rank
Team
1
Georgetown
2
Clemson
3
Pittsburgh
4
Stanford
5
Wake Forest
6
Akron
7
Indiana
8
SMU
9
Marshall
10
UCF
11
Virginia Tech
12
Notre Dane
13
Kentucky
14
North Carolina
15
Loyola Marymount
16
Washington
17
Saint Mary's
18
James Madison
19
Charlotte
20
Coastal Carolina
21
Maryland
22
Portland
23
Penn State
24
St. John's
25
Florida International
Soccer America [3]
Rank
Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Impact of COVID-19 on season
For the 2020 season, several changes in how the season began, and how conference play was organized affected the 2020 season.
The Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament , for the 2020 season only, will be reduced from eight teams to four, to minimize travel and contamination.[ 53]
The Big East Conference divided into two divisions, the "East" and "Midwest" divisions to minimize travel and to regionalize conference play.[ 54]
The Big South Conference Men's Soccer Tournament , for the 2020 season only, will be reduced from six teams to four, to minimize travel and contamination.[ 55]
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced that the men's soccer season will begin on September 11, rather than August 28.[ 56]
The Mid-American Conference discontinued its men's soccer tournament.[ 57] All teams will play each other home-and-home.
The Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament , for the 2020 season only, will be reduced from six teams to four, to minimize travel and contamination.[ 58]
On July 8, the Ivy League cancelled all intercollegiate sports for the 2020 Fall semester; this includes both men's and women's soccer. [ 59]
On July 10, the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences announced all teams will play the 2020 season with conference-only matches[ 60]
On July 13, the Patriot League announced that all fall sports, including men's soccer would be cancelled.[ 61]
On July 17, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced that all fall sports, including men's soccer, would be postponed to spring 2021.[ 62]
On August 13, the Western Athletic Conference announced that all fall sports, including men's soccer, would be postponed to spring 2021. However, the league is allowing nonconference games.[ 63]
On August 13, the Southern Conference announced that conference competition in all fall sports, including men's soccer, would be suspended through the end of the calendar year. [ 64]
On August 14, the Atlantic Sun Conference announced that all fall sports, including men's soccer, would be postponed with the intent to hold them in the spring 2021.[ 65]
On August 15, the NCAA suspended the men's soccer championship for the fall season, with the possibility of being played in winter or spring 2021
On August 27, three conferences confirmed to play in the fall, with individual programs allowed to play games in the fall. The ACC and the Sun Belt will play in fall 2020.
Fall 2020 season
Standings
Rankings
Top-ranked team
Weekly United Soccer Coaches #1 ranked team (Fall 2020)
Date
Team
Date
Team
Date
Team
Date
Team
September 22
Wake Forest
September 29
Wake Forest
October 6
Wake Forest
October 13
Wake Forest
October 20
Pitt
October 27
Pitt
November 3
Pitt
November 10
Pitt
November 17
Pitt
November 24
Clemson
end of fall 2020 season
Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week
Bold denotes TDS player of the week.
Major upsets
In this list, a "major upset" is defined as a game won by an unranked team that defeats a ranked team.
All rankings are from the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
Fall postseason
Conference winners and tournaments
Spring 2021 season
Standings
Rankings
Top-ranked team
Weekly United Soccer Coaches #1 ranked team (Spring 2021)
Date
Team
Date
Team
Date
Team
Date
Team
January 11 (preseason)
None until after season starts
February 8
February 15
February 22
March 1
March 8
March 15
March 22
March 29
April 5
April 12
April 19
April 26
None until after tournament
May 24
Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week
Bold denotes TDS player of the week.
Team of the week
Week
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
Statistics
Individual statistics
Goals
Rank
Scorer
School
Games
Goals
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Goals Against Average
Rank
Keeper
School
Games
Minutes
GA
GAA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Assists
Rank
Player
School
Games
Assists
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Save Percentage
Rank
Keeper
School
Games
Minutes
Saves
GA
Save %
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Points
Rank
Player
School
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Saves
Rank
Keeper
School
Games
Saves
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Individual statistics are through the games of September 28, 2020
See also
References
^ "NCAA President Emmert: 'We cannot have fall NCAA championships' " . NCAA. August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020 .
^ "Future Dates & Sites" . NCAA & Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "Shaun Green Announces His Retirement From Coaching the Blue Devils Men's Soccer Program" (Press release). Central Connecticut Blue Devils. December 6, 2019.
^ "Dave Kelly Named CCSU Men's Soccer Interim Head Coach" (Press release). Central Connecticut Blue Devils. January 14, 2020.
^ "UIW Athletics announces national search for men's soccer head coach" . UIW Athletics/CBS Sports. November 11, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "UIW Athletics welcomes home Kiki Lara as men's soccer head coach" (Press release). Incarnate Word Cardinals/CBS Sports Digital. December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019 .
^ "George Mason soccer coach Greg Andrulis resigns after 15 seasons" . Washington Post . November 13, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "Mason Hires Legendary NCAA Coach Elmar Bolowich to Lead Men's Soccer" . Atlantic 10 Conference. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020 .
^ "Neil Roberts retires as Boston University coach: "You know when it's time" " . New England Soccer Journal/Seamans Media, Inc. November 18, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ a b "Boston University hires Kevin Nylen as men's soccer head coachr" . soccerwire.com. January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020 .
^ "Pieter Lehrer out as Harvard men's soccer coach" . New England Soccer Journal/Seamans Media, Inc. November 18, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "Harvard hires Tufts's Josh Shapiro as men's soccer coach" . Boston Globe. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020 .
^ "Mathes Mennell Resigns as UNC Asheville Head Men's Soccer Coach" . University of North Carolina - Asheville/CBS Sports. November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "UNC Asheville Names Giordano Men's Soccer Interim Head Coach" (Press release). University of North Carolina - Asheville/CBS Sports Digital. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
^ a b "Valparaiso to drop men's soccer, men's tennis" . The Times/ Lee Enterprises, Inc. November 20, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "BC soccer coach Ed Kelly retires after 32 years" . USA Today. November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019 .
^ "Bob Thompson named Boston College men's soccer head coach, removing interim title" . soccerwire.com. January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
^ "Rick Benben, KC Roos' soccer coach for 22 seasons, is retiring" . Kansas City Star. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019 .
^ "Ryan Pore to Lead Kansas City Men's Soccer Program" (Press release). University of Missouri Kansas City & CBS Sports Digital. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020 .
^ "Men's Soccer Leadership Announcement" . Drexel University/CBS Sports Digital. December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
^ "Drexel Names Michael Marchiano Head Men's Soccer Coach" . Drexel University & CBS Sports Digita. January 31, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020 .
^ "San Diego State sacks longtime men's soccer coach Lev Kirshner" . The San Diego Union-Tribune . December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019 .
^ "SDSU hires Ryan Hopkins as new men's soccer coach" . The San Diego Union-Tribune . January 21, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
^ "LeBlanc steps down as WVU men's soccer coach" . wdtv.com/. December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
^ "Stratford returns to Morgantown to lead the WVU men's soccer program" . wvmetronews.com. January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020 .
^ "Lara Steps Down As EIU Men's Soccer Coach" (Press release). Eastern Illinois Panthers/CBS Digital. December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019 .
^ "Eastern Illinois University" . collegead.com. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020 .
^ "Mike Harper Steps Down as Purdue Fort Wayne Men's Soccer Head Coach" . newsbreak.com. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020 .
^ "Stephen Gorton named PFW men's soccer coach" . The Journal Ggazette. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020 .
^ "Kyle Russell Named Men's Soccer Head Coach" (Press release). Florida International University Athletics. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020 .
^ "Stetson University men's soccer head coach Cristian Neagu fired for policy violations" . HummerSport, LLC/soccerwire.com. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020 .
^ "Stetson's Rutkowski Elevated to Head Coach" . ASUN Conference. February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020 .
^ "Charlie Hubbard" . James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
^ "VMI promotes Watson to men's soccer coach" . Roanoke News. March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020 .
^ a b "UC Discontinues Men's Soccer Program" (Press release). Cincinnati Bearcats. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020 .
^ a b "App State drops men's soccer and two other men's programs" (Press release). Soccer America. May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020 .
^ "Former KWC Panther gets soccer head coaching nod at Chicago State" . Owensboro Times. July 24, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
^ "Cal State Bakersfield, UC San Diego to join Big West in 2020" . The Washington Post . November 27, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "Blazing a New Trail: Dixie State Accepts Invitation to Join Western Athletic Conference" (Press release). Dixie State Trailblazers. December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019 .
^ "DONE D-1 DEAL" . wdrb.com. June 17, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "University Budget Committee minutes" (PDF) . Chicago State University. April 26, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2016 .
^ a b "Chicago State University Board of Trustees Announces Discontinuation of Baseball" (Press release). Chicago State Cougars. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020 .
^ "Chicago State Announces Sport Sponsorship Adjustment" . Western Athletic Conference. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020 .
^ "St. Thomas can go D1; Minn. school was ousted from D3 league" . Minnesota Public Radio. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020 .
^ "CSU Bakersfield Accepts Invitation To Join Big West Conference" . Cal State Bakersfield . November 27, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ "Kansas City Roo Athletics Rejoins Summit League" . June 20, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
^ Borzello, Jeff (July 26, 2019). "UConn leaving AAC in '20, will owe $17M exit fee" . ESPN . Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
^ "Purdue Fort Wayne leaving Summit League to join Horizon League for the 2020-2021 season" . CBS Sports . August 6, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
^ "NJIT switches conferences to America East from Atlantic Sun" . ESPN. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020 .
^ "Robert Morris to Join Horizon League" (Press release). Horizon League. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020 .
^ "MVC Adds SIUE As Men's Soccer Affiliate" . Missouri Valley Conference. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
^ "College Soccer News 2020 Preseason Top 30 National Poll" . College Soccer News . Retrieved September 6, 2020 .
^ "A-10 Concludes First-Ever Virtual Spring Meetings; Modifies Schedules, Championship Formats" . atlantic10.com . May 14, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ "BIG EAST Announces Changes to 2020 Fall Sports Scheduling" . June 8, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ "Big South Statement on 2020-21 Efficiencies and Championships" . BigSouthSports.com . May 11, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ "MAAC Council of Presidents Meeting Sets September 11 as First Date of Fall Competition" . MAACSports.com . June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference" . Toledo, OH: WTOL . Retrieved May 12, 2020 .
^ "SoCon announces cost containment measures for 2020-21" . SoConSports.com . May 14, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ "Ivy League won't hold sports this fall, becoming first D-1 conference to suspend football season" . Washington Post . July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
^ Dinich, Heather; Schalabach, Mark (July 10, 2020). "Pac-12 follows Big Ten in moving to conference-only schedule for fall sports" . ESPN . Retrieved July 11, 2020 .
^ Eskilson, J.R. (July 13, 2020). "Patriot League cancels fall season" . TopDrawer Soccer . Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
^ "Atlantic 10 Conference Postpones Fall Sport Competitions and Championships" . atlantic10.com . July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020 .
^ "Western Athletic Conference won't engage in fall sports competition" . NCAA. August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
^ "Southern Conference postpones fall conference competition" . NCAA. August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
^ "Here's the latest fall sports news for Friday evening" . NCAA. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: September 22" . Top Drawer Soccer . September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: September 29" . Top Drawer Soccer . September 29, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: October 6" . Top Drawer Soccer . October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: October 13" . TopDrawerSoccer.com . October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: October 20" . TopDrawerSoccer.com . October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: October 27" . TopDrawerSoccer.com . October 27, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: November 3" . TopDrawerSoccer.com . November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: November 10" . TopDrawerSoccer.com . November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020 .
^ "Men's Team of the Week: November 17" . TopDrawerSoccer.com . November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020 .
Regular Season Tournaments National Tournaments Rankings & awards
NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Seasons
Pre-regulation ISFL ISAF NCAA
International
Club competitions