The 2020 Southern Conference men's soccer season is the 25th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season was originally slated to begin on August 28 and conclude on November 4, 2020, culminating with the 2020 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament.
On August 13, 2020, the NCAA suspended all fall championships, which coincided with the Southern Conference suspending all fall sports through the end of the calendar year. On September 16, 2020 the NCAA voted on men's soccer resuming play for the 2020–21 academic year on February 3, 2021 as the earliest date to schedule fixtures and April 17, 2021 as the latest date to schedule fixtures.
Despite the delay, teams on an individual basis can schedule competitive fixtures during the Fall 2020 semester. Thus far, Mercer is the only SoCon team that has opted to play games in the fall.
Background
Previous season The 2019 season saw Furman win the SoCon regular season championship, posting a 5–1–0 SoCon record and a 11–7–1 season record. Mercer successfully three-peated in the SoCon Tournament, winning their third consecutive SoCon Tournament championship.
In the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Mercer lost in the opening round to Charlotte.
Coaching changes The 2019–20 offseason saw Charlie Hubbard depart VMI as a head coach. On March 5, 2020, Hubbard resigned to take an assistant coach position with James Madison University. Hubbard coached VMI for one season and finished with an overall record of 1–16–0. On March 23, 2020, VMI assistant coach, Max Watson, was promoted to head coach.
SchoolOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointment VMI Charlie Hubbard Hired by James Madison (asst.) Preseason Max Watson
Head coaches
Team Head coach Previous job Years atschool Overall record Record atschool SoConrecord NCAATournaments NCAACollege Cups NCAATitles Ref.Belmont Xavier (asst.) 2 0 0 0 Kentucky (asst.) 3 0 0 0FurmanSouth Carolina (asst.) 25 10 0 0MercerBradley (asst.) 13 3 0 0UNC GreensboroDuke (asst.) 2 0 0 0VMIVMI (asst.) 1 0 0 0 WoffordCharlotte Independence (asst.)2000
Fall 2020 season
Fall matches Mercer University played competitive matches during the fall.
Index to colors and formattingSoCon member wonSoCon member lostSoCon member tiedSoCon teams in bold All times Eastern time.
Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 18 7:00 p.m. Georgia State Mercer Betts Stadium Macon, GA L 1–2 161 September 22 7:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Mercer Betts Stadium Macon, GA W 3–0 161 October 6 7:00 p.m. Mercer Georgia State GSU Soccer Field Atlanta, GA L 0–2 298 October 9 6:00 p.m. South Carolina Mercer Betts Stadium Macon, GA L 0–1 116 October 14 7:00 p.m. Mercer No. 4 Kentucky Bell Soccer Complex Lexington, KY L 1–3 97
Rankings
United Soccer Coaches During the fall 2020 season, United Soccer Coaches ran a Top 5 poll for the programs playing in fall.
Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 5NVNo votes received Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12MercerNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
TopDrawerSoccer.com During the fall 2020 season, United Soccer Coaches ran a Top 10 poll for the programs playing in fall.
Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 10NVNo votes received Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12MercerNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Awards and honors
Date Player Position School Honor Ref. FW Mercer TopDrawer Soccer Team of the Week
Spring 2021 season
Preseason poll The preseason poll will be released in December 2020 or January 2021. Team ranking PointsFirst place votes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Preseason national polls The preseason national polls were originally to be released in July and August 2020. Only CollegeSoccerNews.com released a preseason poll for 2020. UnitedSoccer CSN SoccerAmerica Top DrawerSoccerBelmont — — — —ETSU — — — —Furman — — — —Mercer — — — —UNCG — — — —VMI — — — —Wofford — — — —
Early season tournaments
Early season tournaments will be announced in late Spring and Summer 2019.
Team Tournament Finish
Results Index to colors and formattingSoCon member wonSoCon member lostSoCon member tiedSoCon teams in bold
All times Eastern time.† denotes Homecoming game
Rankings
National rankings Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25NVNo votes received Pre Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 FinalBelmont None released East Tennessee State None released Furman None released Mercer None released UNC Greensboro None released VMI None released Wofford None released
Regional rankings - South Region Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 10NVNo votes received The United Soccer Coaches' south region ranks teams among the ACC, Atlantic Sun, and SoCon. Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12BelmontEast Tennessee StateFurmanMercerUNC GreensboroVMIWofford
Players of the Week Week Offensive DefensiveRef. Player Position Team Player Position Team
Postseason
Awards and honors 2020 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearBen Hale, FurmanGoalkeeper of the YearBen Hale, FurmanCoach of the YearDoug Allison, FurmanFreshmen of the YearJake Raine, FurmanThéo Collomb, UNC Greensboro
2020 SoCon Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Freshman TeamShaun-Chris Joash, FurmanJake Raine, FurmanThéo Collomb, UNCGMiles Fenton, FurmanCallum Holland, FurmanDylan Gaither, MercerFernando Garcia, UNCGCole McLagan, FurmanEmmanuel Hagan, UNCGBuster Sjöberg, WoffordBen Hale, FurmanNiccolo Dagnoni, BelmontLiam O’Brien, BelmontJared Leheta, ETSUDawson Gideon, MercerAJ Chastonay, BelmontKieran Richards, ETSUMani Austmann, UNCGJack Shaw, BelmontTommy Kay, FurmanKareve Richards, MercerDrew Romig, BelmontAJ Chastonay, BelmontMichael Saunders, BelmontEric Stiles, BelmontJared Leheta, ETSUTarik Pannholzer, ETSUJosh Hosie, FurmanSam Miller, FurmanJake Raine, FurmanNick Wanzer, MercerThéo Collomb, UNCGEmmanuel Hagan, UNCGNiclas Wild, UNCG
SoCon Tournament
NCAA tournament
Seed School 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship UNC GreensboroL, 2–3 vs. Omaha
2021 MLS Draft
The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was held on January 21, 2021. No players from the SoCon were selected in the draft.
References
External links Southern Conference Men's Soccer