The 2019 Conference USA men's soccer season was the 25th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season began on August 25 and concluded on November 12.
The defending regular season and tournament champions were Kentucky.
Background Previous season
Ahead of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, FIU was ranked 20th in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. As the season progressed, Kentucky emerged as one of the strongest teams in the nation, being ranked as third in the country. Kentucky finished the season with a program best record of 19–2–1. Kentucky would also go on to win the C-USA regular season, win the 2018 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament, and reach the Elite Eight of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Additionally, C-USA runners-up, Charlotte earned an at-large bit into the NCAA Tournament. Old Dominion, who had one point been ranked as high as 18th in the nation, were one of the first teams out of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Head coaching changes The New Mexico Lobos men's soccer program was relegated from a varsity to a club sport. Head coach Jeremy Fishbein's contract expired with the termination of the New Mexico varsity program.
Long-time UAB Blazers men's soccer head coach, Mike Getman, retired following the conclusion of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. Getman was replaced by Virginia Tech assistant coach, Jeff Kinney.
SchoolOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointment UAB Mike Getman Retired Preseason Jeff Kinney New Mexico Jeremy Fishbein Program terminated Preseason
Head coaches
Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Record at school C-USA record NCAATournaments NCAACollege Cups NCAATitlesCharlotte Charlotte (asst.) 8 6 0 0 FIU Orlando City SC (scout) 3 1 0 0Florida Atlantic South Carolina (asst.) 3 0 0 0Kentucky Dartmouth 8 10 0 0Marshall Charleston (WV) 3 0 0 0Old Dominion North Carolina (asst.) 23 14 0 0South Carolina The Citadel 41 22 3 0UAB Virginia Tech (asst.) 1 0 0 0
Preseason Preseason poll
The preseason poll was released on August 13, 2019.
Team ranking First place votes 1.Kentucky5 2.Charlotte2 3.Old Dominion0 4.Marshall1 5.FIU0 6.South Carolina0 7.UAB0 8.Florida Atlantic0
Preseason national rankings The preseason national rankings will be announced in August 2019. United Soccer Coaches, Soccer America, and TopDrawerSoccer.com do a Top-25 preseason poll. CollegeSoccerNews.com and Hero Sports do a Top-30 preseason poll.
UnitedSoccer CSNSoccerAmericaTopDrawerSoccerCharlotte 21 23 20 20FIURV — — —Florida Atlantic — — — —Kentucky 8 2 6 6Marshall — — — —Old Dominion RV — — RVSouth Carolina — — — —UAB — — — —
Preseason All-Conference teams
Honor Recipient Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the YearKalil El-Medkhar, Kentucky Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the YearJason Reyes, Kentucky Preseason Defensive Player of the YearAimé Mabika, Kentucky
Preseason All-CUSA Team
Player School Class Position Teddy Chaouche Charlotte Sr. MF Elliot Panicco Charlotte R-Sr. GK Andrew Booth FIU R-Sr. MF/D Alonso Coello Florida Atlantic So. MF Kalil El-Medkhar Kentucky Jr. MF Enrique Facusse Kentucky Jr. GK Aimé Mabika Kentucky R-Jr. D Jason Reyes Kentucky So. F Daniel Corona Old Dominion So. F Sebastien Hauret Old Dominion R-Sr. MF Luca Mayr South Carolina Sr. MF/F
Regular season Positions by round
Rankings National 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 FinalCharlotte 211712101195101718171715None released21 202021201815888232321222519191919FIU RVRVRV221613151211131923RVNone releasedRV NVNVNVNVNVRV2123212417RVRVNVNVNVNVNVFlorida Atlantic NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone releasedNV NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVKentucky 891721231916201616161519None released23 6659201814152325182323RVRVRVRVRVMarshall NVNVNVRVRVRVRV211520141311None released11 NVNVNVNVNVNVRVNVNVNVNVNVRV1514151515Old Dominion RVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone releasedNV NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSouth Carolina NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone releasedNV NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVUAB NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNone releasedNV NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Regional - United Soccer Southeast The United Soccer Southeast regional rankings contain teams from Conference USA, the Atlantic 10 Conference, Sun Belt Conference, and Missouri Valley Conference. 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 Wk12Charlotte311111243332FIU432223111447Florida AtlanticNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVKentucky243432432223Marshall855344324111Old DominionNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSouth CarolinaNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVUABNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
Postseason Conference USA Tournament
The Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament was held from November 13–16, 2019 on the campus of Old Dominion University. Marshall won their first ever Conference USA Championship, beating Charlotte in the final.
NCAA Tournament
Seed Region School 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship 11 3 Marshall W 2–1 vs. West Virginia – (Huntington, WV) L 1–4 vs. #6 Washington – (Seattle, WA) 4 Charlotte W 3–1 vs. Mercer – (Charlotte, NC) L 1–2 (OT) vs. #2 Clemson – (Clemson, SC) 2 Kentucky W 2–1 (OT) vs. Loyola Chicago – (Lexington, KY) L 0–3 vs. #5 Indiana – (Bloomington, IN)
Awards and honors Players of the Week Week Offensive DefensiveRef. Player Position Team Player Position Team Sep. 2Andrew BoothFWFIUHagay JalonGKFlorida Atlantic Sep. 9Teddy ChaoucheMFCharlottePatrick HoganDFCharlotte Sep. 16Alessandro CampoyFWFIUDelasi BatseDFCharlotte Sep. 23Caleb FrankeFWFIUNick O’CallaghanDFFIU Sep. 30Ivan MykhailenkoFWFlorida AtlanticDaniel GagliardiGKFIU Oct. 7Axel SigurdarsonMFCharlotteIllal OsmanuDFMarshall Oct. 14Mohamed CondeFWFIUElliot PaniccoDFCharlotte Oct. 21Milo YosefFWMarshallPaulo PitaGKMarshall Oct. 28Daniel EvansFWKentuckyHagay JalonGKFlorida Atlantic Nov. 4Milo YosefFWMarshallPaulo PitaGKMarshall Nov. 11Jamil RobertsMFMarshallPaulo PitaGKMarshall
Postseason awards Conference awards 2019 C-USA Men's Soccer Individual Awards Award Recipient(s) Player of the Year Aimé Mabika, Kentucky Offensive Player of the Year Milo Yosef, Marshall Co-Defensive Players of the Year Nick O'Callaghan, FIUAimé Mabika, Kentucky Midfielder of the Year Andrew Booth, FIU Goalkeeper of the Year Elliot Panicco, Charlotte Freshman of the Year Milo Yosef, Marshall Co-Golden Glove Award Elliot Panicco, CharlottePaulo Pita, Marshall Golden Boot Award Alessandro Campoy, FIU Coach of the Year Chris Grassie, Marshall
2019 C-USA Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Third Team Rookie TeamGK: Elliot Panicco, Charlotte D: Patrick Hogan, Charlotte D: Nick O'Callaghan, FIU D: Aimé Mabika, Kentucky D: Illal Osmanu, Marshall MF: Teddy Chaouche, Charlotte MF: Andrew Booth, FIU MF: Alonso Coello, Florida Atlantic MF: Kalil El-Medkhar, Kentucky F: Alessandro Campoy, FIU F: Milo Yosef, MarshallGK: Enrique Facusse, Kentucky GK: Paulo Pita, Marshall D: Jimmy Filerman, Old Dominion D: Frano Buhovac, South Carolina MF: Alban Rousselet, FIU MF: Alex Alexis, Florida Atlantic MF: Marcel Meinzer, Kentucky MF: Pedro Dolabella, Marshall MF: Deniz Dogan, Old Dominion F: Ivan Mykhailenko, Florida Atlantic F: Daniel Evans, Kentucky F: Jamil Roberts, MarshallGK: Daniel Gagliardi, FIU D: Luke Johnson, Charlotte D: David Garcia, FIU D: Tom Abrahamsson, Florida Atlantic D: Jan-Erik Leinhos, Marshall D: Chris Reichman, UAB MF: Joe Brito, Charlotte MF: Xavi Olmos Ferris, FIU MF: Sebastien Hauret, Old Dominion MF: Logan Hitzeman, South Carolina MF: Chase Rushing, UAB F: Kameron Lacey, Charlotte F: Brian Banahan, South CarolinaKameron Lacey, F, Charlotte Axel Sigurdarson, MF, Charlotte AJ Cousins, D, FIU David Garcia, D, FIU Tom Abrahamsson, D, Florida Atlantic John Michael Bandy, D, Kentucky Eythor Bjorgolfsson, MF, Kentucky Max Schneider, MF, Marshall Milo Yosef, F, Marshall Jose Olmos, D, Old Dominion Brian Banahan, F, South Carolina Logan Hitzeman, MF, South Carolina
Regional awards
Award Recipients CoSIDA Academic All-District Hagay Jalon, Florida Atlantic Carlos Diaz-Salcedo, Marshall Jonas Westmeyer, Marshall Luca Mayr, South CarolinaUnited Soccer All-Southeast First-Team Elliot Panicco, Charlotte Aimé Mabika, Kentucky Nick O'Callaghan, FIU Illal Osmanu, Marshall Andrew Booth, FIU Kalil El-Medkhar, Kentucky Jamil Roberts, Marshall Milo Yosef, Marshall United Soccer All-Southeast Second-Team Enrique Facusse, Kentucky Patrick Hogan, Charlotte Jan-Erik Leinhos, Marshall Teddy Chaouche, Charlotte United Soccer All-Southeast Third-Team Paulo Pita, Marshall Marcel Meinzer, Kentucky Alessandro Campoy, FIU
National awards
Award Recipients Senior CLASS Award Elliot Panicco, Charlotte
All-Americans
Consensus All-AmericansNone To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors based on a point system computed from the four different all-America teams. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and one point for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation. The top five totals plus ties are first team and the next five plus ties are second team. College Soccer NewsSoccer AmericaTop Drawer SoccerUnited Soccer Coaches First Team None None None None Second Team None Milo Yosef – Marshall NoneMilo Yosef – MarshallThird Team Elliot Panicco – CharlotteMilo Yosef – Marshall None None None
2020 MLS Draft
The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was held in January 2020. Five players from Conference USA were selected.
Player Team School113 GKNashville SCCharlotte124 GKLos Angeles FCMarshall232 GKVancouver WhitecapsFIU357 DFOrlando CityFIU496 MFMinnesota UnitedFIU
Homegrown players
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, 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. Players can play college soccer and still be eligible to sign a homegrown contract.
No players from Conference USA signed homegrown contracts following the 2019 season ahead of the 2020 MLS season.
References