2021 Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer season

The 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer season was the 68th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.

Clemson are the defending champions of the Atlantic Conference and the Pittsburgh are the defending champions of the Coastal Conference. Clemson is the defending ACC tournament Champion.

Clemson and Pittsburgh both retained their regular season titles in their respective conferences. However, Clemson could not defend its ACC Tournament crown, with Notre Dame prevailing in the 2021 tournament. Eight ACC teams were invited to the NCAA tournament. Clemson had the best showing of the eight, winning their third title in program history.

Teams

Stadiums and locations Atlantic Division Team Stadium Capacity Boston College Eagles Newton Campus Soccer Field 2,500 Clemson Tigers Riggs Field 6,500 Louisville Cardinals Lynn Stadium 5,300 NC State Wolfpack Dail Soccer Field 3,000 Syracuse Orange SU Soccer Stadium 5,000 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Spry Stadium 3,000

Coastal Division Team Stadium Capacity Duke Blue Devils Koskinen Stadium 7,000 North Carolina Tar Heels Dorrance Field 4,200 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Alumni Stadium 2,500 Pittsburgh Panthers Ambrose Urbanic Field 735 Virginia Cavaliers Klöckner Stadium 8,000 Virginia Tech Hokies Thompson Field 2,500

1. Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami do not sponsor men's soccer

Personnel Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school ACC record Boston College Bob Thompson 2 1–3–1 1–3–1 1–3–1 Clemson Mike Noonan 12 337–179–46 124–66–33 48–33–15 Duke John Kerr Jr. 14 192–148–43 111–89–30 44–51–16 Louisville John Michael Hayden 3 15–16–3 15–16–3 8–10–2 North Carolina Carlos Somoano 11 137–42–29 137–42–29 53–17–16 NC State George Kiefer 5 192–122–61 30–28–14 9–19–9 Notre Dame Chad Riley 4 29–24–4 29–24–4 11–15–2 Pittsburgh Jay Vidovich 6 251–99–33 44–45–2 17–23–3 Syracuse Ian McIntyre 12 202–139–62 95–75–33 18–35–16 Virginia George Gelnovatch 26 345–139–59 345–139–59 93–66–32 Virginia Tech Mike Brizendine 13 88–103–30 88–103–30 23–60–19 Wake Forest Bobby Muuss 7 177–74–36 102–18–12 39–5–7

Notes Records shown are prior to the 2021 season Years at school includes the 2021 season ACC records include only years with current school.

Preseason

Hermann Trophy

The preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy was released on August 26, 2021.

Player Class Position School Jasper Löeffelsend Graduate Student DF Pittsburgh Valentin Noël Junior FW Pittsburgh

Preseason Poll

The 2021 ACC Preseason Poll was announced on August 18, 2021. The league's 12 head coaches voted Pittsburgh as the preseason favorite, with 7 of the 12 votes. Full results of the preseason poll are shown below:

+Atlantic Division 1 Clemson 64 (9) 2 Wake Forest 57 (2) 3 Louisville 38 4 Boston College 36 (1) 5 NC State 27 6 Syracuse 26 +Coastal Division 1 Pittsburgh 64 (9) 2 North Carolina 58 (3) 3 Virginia Tech 40 4 Virginia 32 5 Duke 28 6 Notre Dame 24

Media poll (ACC Championship) 1 Pittsburgh 7 2 Clemson 3 3 North Carolina 2

Preseason awards

Preseason All-ACC Watchlist

Position Player Class School Goalkeeper Alec Smir Graduate Student North Carolina Leon Krapf Senior NC State Defender Victor Souza Junior Boston College Oskar Ågren Junior Clemson Andreas Ueland Junior Virginia Sivert Haugli Senior Virginia Tech Midfielder Peter Stroud Sophomore Duke Valentin Noël Junior Pittsburgh Forward Pedro Fonseca Senior Louisville Jack Lynn Senior Notre Dame Deandre Kerr Sophomore Syracuse Kyle Holcomb Senior Wake Forest

Regular season Index to colors and formattingACC member wonACC member lostACC member tiedACC teams in bold All times Eastern time.

Week 1 (Aug. 24 – Aug. 30) Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance August 26 5:00 p.m. No. 15 Virginia Tech Kansas City Sentara Park • Harrisonburg, VA T 2–2 (2OT) N/A 7:00 p.m. St. John's No. 6 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC W 2–1 N/A USC Upstate NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC W 2–0 1,141 VCU No. 7 Wake Forest Spry Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC L 0–2 1,296 Western Michigan Virginia Klöckner Stadium • Charlottesville, VA W 2–1 1,815 7:30 p.m. Bucknell No. 4 North Carolina Dorrance Field • Chapel Hill, NC W 7–0 1,227 Drexel Syracuse SU Soccer Stadium • Syracuse, NY W 2–0 727 8:00 p.m. Duquesne No. 3 Pittsburgh Ambrose Urbanic Field • Pittsburgh, PA W 7–0 1,310 Louisville Saint Louis Hermann Stadium • St. Louis, MO L 1–2 (2OT) 2,224 August 27 7:00 p.m. No. 2 Indiana Notre Dame Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, IN L 2–3 (OT) 2,347 7:30 p.m. Liberty Duke Koskinen Stadium • Durham, NC W 3–0 851 August 28 4:00 p.m. Boston College Quinnipiac Quinnipiac Soccer Stadium • Hamden, CT L 1–2 226 August 29 2:30 p.m. Merrimack Duke Koskinen Stadium • Durham, NC W 4–0 262 3:30 p.m. No. 15 Virginia Tech No. 1 Marshall Sentara Park • Harrisonburg, VA W 3–2 113 7:00 p.m. Bucknell No. 7 Wake Forest Spry Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC W 2–0 1,089 Syracuse No. 11 Penn State Jeffrey Field • State College, PA L 0–3 2,073 USC Upstate No. 6 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC W 5–0 N/A 7:30 p.m. VCU No. 4 North Carolina Dorrance Field • Chapel Hill, NC T 1–1 (2OT) 1,776 August 30 5:30 p.m. Boston University Boston College Newton Soccer Complex • Chestnut Hill, MA W 2–1 750 7:00 p.m. NIU Notre Dame Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, IN W 2–0 456 No. 3 Pittsburgh West Virginia Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium • Morgantown, WV L 1–2 1,316 UNC Asheville NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC W 4–0 1,589 7:30 p.m. Evansville Louisville Lynn Stadium • Louisville, KY W 2–1 504

Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Player Team Player Team Veljko Petković Pittsburgh George Marks ClemsonReference:

Week 2 (Aug. 31 – Sept. 6) Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 2 7:00 p.m. No. 24 Duke Michigan U-M Soccer Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 1–0 0 High Point Virginia Klöckner Stadium • Charlottesville, VA W 2–0 1,042 September 3 4:00 p.m. UCF No. 10 Virginia Tech Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC W 2–1 50 7:00 p.m. No. 2 Georgetown Syracuse SU Soccer Stadium • Syracuse, NY L 0–1 1,674 Georgia Southern No. 6 North Carolina Dorrance Field • Chapel Hill, NC W 3–0 498 Lehigh No. 3 Pittsburgh Ambrose Urbanic Field • Pittsburgh, PA W 2–0 1,060 No. 20 Seton Hall NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC L 1–3 842 South Carolina No. 4 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC W 5–0 4,524 7:30 p.m. Bellarmine Louisville Lynn Stadium • Louisville, KY W 1–0 (2OT) 1,200 Notre Dame No. 21 Kentucky Bell Soccer Complex • Lexington, KY L 0–1 1,589 September 4 7:00 p.m. Cornell No 18 Wake Forest Spry Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC W 2–1 (2OT) 1,491 September 6 1:00 p.m. No. 10 Virginia Tech No. 20 Seton Hall Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC T 3–3 (2OT) 116 5:30 p.m. Hartford Boston College Newton Soccer Complex • Chestnut Hill, MA W 1–0 615 6:00 p.m. Virginia No. 11 Maryland Audi Field • Washington, D.C. L 1–2 1,987 7:00 p.m. No. 6 North Carolina Davidson Alumni Soccer Stadium • Davidson, NC W 3–0 2,163 Niagara Syracuse SU Soccer Stadium • Syracuse, NY W 2–0 896 No. 3 Pittsburgh No. 19 Akron FirstEnergy Stadium • Akron, OH L 1–2 1,955 Seattle No. 24 Duke Koskinen Stadium • Durham, NC L 0–1 (2OT) 503 South Florida No. 4 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC W 3–0 1,412 UCF NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC W 2–1 802

Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Player Team Player Team Stefan Sigurdarson Boston College Eliot Hamill DukeReference:

Week 3 (Sept. 7 – Sept. 13) Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 7 7:30 p.m. No. 17 Kentucky Louisville Lynn Stadium • Louisville, KY L 1–3 1,679 September 10 7:00 p.m. No. 2 Clemson NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC CLEM 2–0 1,840 No. 4 North Carolina No. 15 Pittsburgh Ambrose Urbanic Field • Pittsburgh, PA PITT 4–0 1,115 Notre Dame Boston College Newton Soccer Complex • Chestnut Hill, MA T 1–1 (2OT) 927 Syracuse Virginia Klöckner Stadium • Charlottesville, VA CUSE 3–1 1,945 7:30 p.m. No. 25 Wake Forest Louisville Lynn Stadium • Louisville, KY LOU 3–0 1,307 September 11 7:00 p.m. No. 6 Virginia Tech No. 19 Duke Koskinen Stadium • Durham, NC DUKE 1–0 863 September 13 7:00 p.m. No. 15 Pittsburgh Penn State Jeffrey Field • State College, PA W 1–0 1,518

Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Player Team Player Team Deandre Kerr Syracuse George Marks ClemsonReference:

Week 4 (Sept. 14 – Sept. 20) Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 14 7:00 p.m. Binghamton Syracuse SU Soccer Stadium • Syracuse, NY W 7–0 988 Campbell No. 16 North Carolina Dorrance Field • Chapel Hill, NC W 1–0 538 Georgia Southern No. 2 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC W 5–0 1,232 Holy Cross Boston College Newton Soccer Complex • Chestnut Hill, MA W 3–2 (OT) 381 James Madison NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC W 2–1 520 Michigan State Notre Dame Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, IN L 3–4 351 UNC Greensboro Virginia Klöckner Stadium • Charlottesville, VA T 0–0 (2OT) 932 September 17 7:00 p.m. Boston College No. 2 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC CLEM 3–0 3,032 Louisville Syracuse SU Soccer Stadium • Syracuse, NY LOU 5–4 (2OT) 1,113 NC State Notre Dame Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, IN ND 1–0 1,001 Virginia No. 17 Virginia Tech Thompson Field • Blacksburg, VA VT 2–1 (2OT) 2,725 8:00 p.m. No. 5 Pittsburgh Wake Forest Spry Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC WAKE 3–1 2,176 September 19 7:00 p.m. No. 12 Duke No. 16 North Carolina Dorrance Field • Chapel Hill, NC DUKE 3–0 2,310 September 20 7:00 p.m. Wake Forest George Mason George Mason Stadium • Fairfax, VA W 1–0 175

Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Player Team Player Team Jacob Labovitz Virginia Tech Eliot Hamill DukeReference:

Week 5 (Sept. 21 – Sept. 27) Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 21 7:00 p.m. Boston College Yale Reese Stadium • New Haven, CT L 0–2 511 No. 2 Clemson UNC Greensboro UNCG Soccer Stadium • Greensboro, NC L 1–3 569 Notre Dame Michigan U-M Soccer Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 3–1 317 Syracuse Cornell Berman Field • Ithaca, NY T 1–1 (2OT) 155 Virginia James Madison Sentara Park • Harrisonburg, VA L 0–1 (2OT) 564 No. 12 Virginia Tech William & Mary Albert–Daly Field • Williamsburg, VA W 3–2 1,129 7:30 p.m. Northern Kentucky No. 25 Louisville Lynn Stadium • Louisville, KY W 4–0 393 September 24 7:00 p.m. Notre Dame No. 12 Virginia Tech Thompson Field • Blacksburg, VA VT 2–1 (OT) 1,423 Wake Forest NC State Dail Soccer Field • Raleigh, NC T 1–1 (2OT) 1,570 7:30 p.m. Boston College No. 25 Louisville Lynn Stadium • Louisville, KY LOU 2–0 827 September 25 7:00 p.m. No. 6 Duke Syracuse SU Soccer Stadium • Syracuse, NY DUKE 1–0 1,879 North Carolina Virginia Klöckner Stadium • Charlottesville, VA UNC 2–0 2,046 No. 15 Pittsburgh No. 2 Clemson Riggs Field • Clemson, SC PITT 2–0 2,231

Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Player Team Player Team Matt Bailey Pittsburgh Eliot Hamill Duke Danny Flores Virginia TechReference:

Week 6 (Sept. 28 – Oct. 4)