2020 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportSoccer
DurationSeptember 18, 2020 – November 16, 2020
Number of teams4
Total attendance3,066
Average attendance192
2021 MLS SuperDraft
Regular Season
Season championsCoastal Carolina
  Runners-upGeorgia State
Season MVPGeorge Proctor, Georgia State
Top scorerTied (3) (5)
Tournament
ChampionsCoastal Carolina
  Runners-upGeorgia State
Finals MVPTor Saunders, Coastal Carolina

The 2020 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season was the 19th season of men's varsity soccer in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The regular season began on September 18 and concluded on November 6, 2020. The season culminated with the Sun Belt Tournament which began on November 13 and concluded on November 15, 2020.

Background

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the season

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected the landscape of men's soccer in the Sun Belt Conference. Long-time program, Appalachian State suspended its men's varsity soccer program in the wake of the pandemic, due to anticipated budget cuts in the athletics program. Additionally, Sun Belt associate member Howard opted out of playing during the fall season due to concerns with the ongoing pandemic.

The SBC and Atlantic Coast Conference were the only two men's soccer conferences that played during fall 2020.

The conference opted to play a six-match season with all programs doing a home-and-home series, or double round robin against every program in the conference. Most teams completed the fall season playing only 8–12 matches instead of the normal 15–18 matches.

Discontinuation of men's soccer

Appalachian State's decision to drop men's soccer was the first move that led to the discontinuation of SBC men's soccer after the 2020–21 school year. In July 2020, Howard announced that it would become an associate member of the Northeast Conference in six sports, with men's soccer being one of four sports moving in July 2021.[1] This left the SBC with only four men's soccer members, two less than the six required to maintain an automatic NCAA tournament berth. The next move that affected SBC men's soccer came in January 2021, when the ASUN Conference announced three schools as incoming full members, including SBC associate Central Arkansas.[2] The following month saw Coastal Carolina announce that it would become a single-sport member of Conference USA (C-USA), joining another in-state C-USA associate in South Carolina.[3] This left Georgia Southern and Georgia State as the only remaining Sun Belt men's soccer programs, and those two schools announced they would move that sport to the Mid-American Conference in late May 2021.[4]

Return of Sun Belt men's soccer

A major conference realignment initially triggered in July 2021 when Oklahoma and Texas announced their plans to leave the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference eventually led to the reinstatement of Sun Belt men's soccer. Further moves in this realignment cycle saw three men's soccer schools announce that they would join the SBC no later than 2023: Colonial Athletic Association member James Madison, and then-reigning national champion Marshall and Old Dominion from Conference USA. Accordingly, league commissioner Keith Gill announced on November 1, 2021 that SBC men's soccer would be reinstated no later than 2023.[5]

Later developments in the realignment cycle[6][7] led the SBC to reinstate men's soccer in 2022 instead of 2023.[8]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Central Arkansas Bears Conway, Arkansas Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex 1,000
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Conway, South Carolina Coastal Carolina University Soccer Field 1,000
Georgia Southern Eagles Statesboro, Georgia Eagle Field 3,500
Georgia State Panthers Decatur, Georgia GSU Soccer Complex 1,892
Atlanta Center Parc Stadium 24,333

Head coaches

As of the 2019 season
Team Head coach Previous job Years at
school		 Overall record Record at
school		 Sun Belt
record		 NCAA
Tournaments[9]		 NCAA
College Cups[9]		 NCAA
Titles[9]		 Ref.
Central Arkansas Ross Duncan Vermont (asst.) 9 33–66–9 (.347) 33–66–9 (.347) 13–25–6 (.364) 2 0 0 [10]
Coastal Carolina Shaun Docking Charleston Southern 22 296–144–37 (.659) 276–125–35 (.673) 9–4–1 (.679) 13 0 0 [11]
Georgia Southern John Murphy Anderson (SC) 4 90–67–22 (.564) 24–23–7 (.509) 8–4–2 (.643) 0 0 0 [12]
Georgia State Brett Surrency Jacksonville (asst.) 10 89–75–12 (.540) 89–75–12 (.540) 15–6–3 (.688) 2 0 0 [13]
Howard Phillip Gyau St. John's College High School 6 8–72–13 (.156) 8–72–13 (.156) 2–19–3 (.146) 0 0 0 [14]

Preseason

Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 27, 2020.[15]

Team Ranking Points First Place Votes
1. Central Arkansas 12 1
2. Coastal Carolina 10 1
Georgia State 10 1
4. Georgia Southern 8 1

Preseason national polls

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, only College Soccer News released a preseason poll.

United
Soccer		 CSN[16] SoccerAmerica Top DrawerSoccer
Central ArkansasN/A —N/AN/A
Coastal CarolinaN/A RVN/AN/A
Georgia SouthernN/A —N/AN/A
Georgia StateN/A —N/AN/A

Preseason honors

Defensive Player – Preseason All-Conference
  • Alberto Suarez, Central Arkansas
Offensive Player – Preseason All-Conference
  • Aris Briggs, Georgia State
Preseason All-Conference Team
Position Nat. Player Team
FW  USA Aris Briggs Georgia State
FW  ENG Adam Davie Georgia Southern
FW  ITA Claudio Repetto Coastal Carolina
MF  DEN Soren Jenson Central Arkansas
MF  ENG Matthew Fearnley Georgia State
MF  SCO Ross Finnie Georgia State
DF  ESP Alberto Suárez Central Arkansas
DF  MEX Aldair Cortes Georgia Southern
DF  ITA Edoardo Calzola Central Arkansas
GK  ENG Paul Tyson Georgia State
GK  BRA Jose Eduardo Bomfim Georgia Southern

Regular season

Conference results

2020 Sun Belt Conference men's fall soccer standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 23 Coastal Carolina ‡ 5 –1 –06 –2 –1
Georgia State 4 –2 –09 –2 –2
Central Arkansas 3 –3 –04 –6 –2
Georgia Southern 0 –6 –01 –9 –0
As of March 2, 2021
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
2020 Sun Belt Conference men's spring soccer standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
#24 Coastal Carolina ‡ 5 –1 –09 –4 –2
Georgia State 4 –2 –09 –2 –2
Central Arkansas 3 –3 –06 –9 –2
Georgia Southern 0 –6 –01 –9 –0
As of May 28,
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

For the 2020 season, each team plays every other conference team twice; once home and once away.

Home \ Away UCA CCU GSO GSU
Central Arkansas — 2–3 1–0 2–0
Coastal Carolina 1–0 — 2–1 1–0
Georgia Southern 1–4 0–3 — 0–3
Georgia State 1–0 2–0 2–0 —
Source: Sun Belt Conference
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Weekly results

Legend
Index to colors and formatting
SBC member won
SBC member lost
SBC member tied
SBC teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

Week 1 (Sep. 14 – Sept. 20)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
September 187:00 p.m.Georgia StateMercerBear Field • Macon, GAW 2–1161
September 19 5:00 p.m. UAB Central Arkansas Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, AR L 2–3 105
September 19 7:00 p.m. Georgia Southern South Carolina Eugene Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC L 0–2 320

Week 2 (Sep. 21 – Sept. 27)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
September 22 7:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Mercer Betts Stadium • Macon, GA L 0–3 161
September 24 7:00 p.m. Georgia State South Carolina Stone Soccer Stadium • Columbia, SC W 3–1 320
September 26 6:00 p.m. UAB Georgia Southern Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA W 3–2 266

Week 3 (Sep. 28 – Oct. 4)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
September 30 5:00 p.m. UAB Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA W 4–0 214
October 2 2:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Kentucky Bell Soccer Complex • Lexington, KY L 1–2 (OT) 83
October 4 2:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Georgia State GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA GSU 2–0 377

Week 4 (Oct. 5 – Oct. 11)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
October 6 7:00 p.m. Mercer Georgia State GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA W 2–0 298
October 10 1:00 p.m. Georgia State Coastal Carolina CCU Soccer Field • Conway, SC CCU 1–0 150
October 10 7:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Georgia Southern Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA UCA 4–1 233

Week 5 (Oct. 12 – Oct. 18)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
October 13 8:00 p.m. Georgia State UAB BBVA Field • Birmingham, AL W 4–1 195
October 16 2:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Coastal Carolina GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA CCU 3–2 50
October 16 7:00 p.m. Georgia State Georgia Southern Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA GSU 3–0 273
October 18 1:00 p.m. Coastal Carolina Central Arkansas GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA CCU 1–0 (OT) 62

Week 6 (Oct. 19 – Oct. 25)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
October 24 2:00 p.m. Georgia State Central Arkansas Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, AR UCA 2–0 84
October 25 2:00 p.m. Coastal Carolina Georgia Southern Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA CCU 2–1 (OT) 150

Week 7 (Oct. 26 – Nov. 1)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
October 31 2:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Central Arkansas Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, AR UCA 1–0 96
November 1 2:00 p.m. Coastal Carolina Georgia State GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA GSU 2–0 223

Week 8 (Nov. 2 – Nov. 8)

DateTime (ET)Visiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendance
November 6 12:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Georgia State GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, GA GSU 1–0 194
6:00 p.m. Coastal Carolina Georgia Southern Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA CCU 3–0 291

Players of the Week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Ref.
Player Position Team Player Position Team
Sep. 23 Aris Briggs FW Georgia State Paul Tyson GK Georgia State [17]
Sep. 30 Matthew Fearnley MF Georgia State George Proctor DF Georgia State [18]
Oct. 7 Aris Briggs FW Georgia State Gunther Rankenburg GK Georgia State [19]
Oct. 14 Soren Jensen MF Central Arkansas Tor Saunders GK Coastal Carolina [20]
Oct. 21 Andrew Bennett MF Georgia State Tor Saunders GK Coastal Carolina [21]
Oct. 28 Soren Jensen MF Central Arkansas Zach Schawl GK Central Arkansas [22]
Ethan Hackenberg FW Coastal Carolina
Nov. 4 Matthew Fearnley MF Georgia State George Proctor DF Georgia State [23]
Nov. 10 Marcello Jones MF Coastal Carolina George Proctor DF Georgia State [24]

Postseason

Sun Belt Tournament

All four teams qualified for the modified Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament was played from November 13–15, with Coastal Carolina winning the championship in penalties over Georgia State.

Semifinals Finals
      
1 Coastal Carolina 6
4 Georgia Southern 0
1 Coastal Carolina (pen.) 0 (4)
2 Georgia State 0 (3)
2 Georgia State (pen.) 1 (4)
3 Central Arkansas 1 (2)

NCAA Tournament

The winner of the 2020 SBC Tournament will earn an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed from November/December 2020 to April/May 2021.

Seed Region School 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
TBD Coastal Carolina

Postseason awards and honors

2020 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Individual Awards[25]
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year George Proctor, Georgia State
Offensive Player of the Year Aris Briggs, Georgia State
Newcomer of the Year Tor Saunders, Coastal Carolina
Freshman of the Year Jason Kemble, Coastal Carolina
Coach of the Year Shaun Docking, Coastal Carolina
2020 Sun Belt Men's Soccer All-Conference Team[25]

Aris Briggs, Georgia State (F)
Adam Davie, Georgia Southern (F)
Kasper Andersen, Central Ark. (F)
Matthew Fearnley, Georgia State (MF)
Soren Jensen, Central Ark. (MF)
Marcello Jones, Coastal Carolina (MF)
Ross Finnie, Georgia State (MF)
George Proctor, Georgia State (D)
Alberto Suarez, Central Ark. (D)
Mael Couteau, Coastal Carolina (D)
Ramon Munoz, Georgia State (D)
Tor Saunders, Coastal Carolina (GK)
Paul Tyson, Georgia State (GK)

MLS SuperDraft

The 2021 MLS SuperDraft will be held in January 2021.

Total picks by school

Team Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Comp. Total
Central Arkansas 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal Carolina 0 0 1 0 1
Georgia State 0 0 1 0 1
Georgia Southern 0 0 0 0 0
Howard 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 2 0 2

List of selections

RoundPick #MLS teamPlayerPositionCollegeRef.
361Real Salt LakeAris BriggsFWGeorgia State[26]
374Nashville SCTor SaundersGKCoastal Carolina[27]

Notable undrafted players

The following players went pro after the 2020 season despite not getting drafted in the 2021 MLS draft.

PlayerNationalityPositionCollegeTeamLeague

References

  1. ↑ "Six Howard Athletics Programs Join the Northeast Conference as Associate Members" (Press release). Howard Bison. July 6, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  2. ↑ "ASUN Conference Announces Three New Institutions; Adds Football as 20th Sport" (Press release). ASUN Conference. January 29, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Coastal Carolina Added as Men's Soccer Member" (Press release). Conference USA. February 25, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Georgia Southern, Georgia State Added As Affiliate Members in Men's Soccer" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  5. ↑ Traylor, Grant (November 1, 2021). "Sun Belt confirms men's soccer being reinstated". The Herald-Dispatch. Huntington, WV. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  6. ↑ "James Madison to Compete in the Sun Belt Conference Beginning Fall 2022" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ Thamel, Pete (March 29, 2022). "Move of Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss from Conference USA to Sun Belt now complete". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Sun Belt Conference Announces Return of Men's Soccer This Fall" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. ncaa.org. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  10. ↑ "UCA Men's Soccer Coaching Records" (PDF). Central Arkansas Athletics.
  11. ↑ "Shaun Docking - Men's Soccer Coach". Coastal Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  12. ↑ "John Murphy - Men's Soccer Coach". Georgia Southern University Athletics. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Brett Surrency". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Phillip Gyau - Men's Soccer Coach". Howard University Athletics. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  15. ↑ "2020 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Poll & Honors". Sun Belt Conference. August 27, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  16. ↑ "College Soccer News 2020 Preseason Top 30 National Poll". CollegeSoccerNews.com. August 27, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Georgia State Takes Both SBC Men's Soccer Honors of the Week". sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Georgie State Takes Both SBC Men's Soccer Honors of the Week". Sun Belt Conference. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Georgie State Takes Both SBC Men's Soccer Honors of the Week". Sun Belt Conference. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  20. ↑ "SBC Announces Men's Soccer Weekly Honors". Sun Belt Conference. October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. ↑ Conference, Sun Belt. "Players of the Week Honors and Sun Belt Championship Details Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  22. ↑ Conference, Sun Belt. "Men's Soccer Players of the Week Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  23. ↑ Conference, Sun Belt (November 4, 2020). "Men's Soccer Players of the Week Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  24. ↑ Conference, Sun Belt (November 10, 2020). "Men's Soccer Players of the Week Announced". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  25. 1 2 "Sun Belt Announces Men's Soccer 2020 Postseason Honors". Sun Belt Conference. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  26. ↑ "RSL Selects Aris Briggs from Georgia State University". RSL.com. Real Salt Lake. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  27. ↑ Parks, Chris (January 22, 2021). "CCU goalkeeper Tor Saunders drafted into the MLS". WBTW. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
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