2019 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats
AROUND #SUNBELTMSOC
• The 2019 edition of Sun Belt men’s soccer gets underway this weekend with 11 matches on the docket. The Howard at Longwood match on Saturday, Aug. 31 is slated for live coverage on ESPN+.
• Preseason Sun Belt favorite Coastal Carolina opens the season on the road against two opponents ranked in the
United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Preseason Rankings, released on Aug. 6. The Chanticleers take on No. 22 Oregon State and No. 20 Portland. Georgia Southern and Appalachian also take on opponents over the opening weekend receiving votes in the USC Preseason Poll as the Eagles travel to UNC Wilmington and the Mountaineers host Loyola (Md).
• The Sun Belt welcomes Central Arkansas to the conference this season as an associate member, increasing the league's men's soccer teams to six. The Bears comes to the Sun Belt after winning back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles and making back-to-back NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship appearances.
• Half of the league's current members have made NCAA Tournament appearances in the last two seasons – Central Arkansas in 2017 and 2018, Coastal Carolina in 2017 and Georgia State in 2018.
• The
preseason predictions, as voted on by the league’s six head coaches, tabbed Coastal Carolina as the favorite to win the Sun Belt regular-season title. The Chanticleers were voted first with two first-place votes and 28 points, just one point ahead of defending regular-season and Sun Belt Tournament champion Georgia State (two first-place votes) and Georgia Southern (one first-place vote) with 27 points each. Coastal Carolina senior forward Tsiki Ntsabeleng as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Georgia State senior defender Kyle Clinton as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year grabbed preseason individual honors.
• Defense looks to be a theme for the Sun Belt this year with:
- Clinton, the two-time Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, returning to anchor the Georgia State defense.
- Appalachian State entering this season after recording a league-high seven shutouts in 2018.
- Georgia Southern returning sophomore goalkeeper Jokull Blaengsson, who played all 1,590 minutes last season, as well as all four starters on the Eagles' back line.
- Howard returning senior goalkeeper Carlos Caro, who led the league in saves (78) and saves per game (5.20) a season ago and was named second-team All-Sun Belt and Sun Belt All-Tournament Team in 2018 and Preseason All-Sun Belt entering this season.
•
Central Arkansas senior forward Niklas Brodacki came in at No. 35 on TopDrawerSoccer.com's Preseason National Top 100 Rankings.
• The Sun Belt has had Google Cloud Academic All-America® selections each of the past four seasons – Hartwick’s Jack Miller in 2015, Chapman in 2016 and Georgia Southern’s Emil Laursen in 2017 and Coastal Carolina's Henrik Mueller and Tyrone Mondi and Appalachian's Jake Chasteen in 2018.
• The conference's first men’s soccer weekly awards (Offensive Player and Defensive Player of the Week) will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
• The 2019 Sun Belt Men's Soccer Championship, hosted by Appalachian State, is set for Nov. 13-17 at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex in Boone, N.C.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, August 29
Georgia State at Presbyterian, 6 p.m.
Friday, August 30
1-Georgia Southern vs. UNC Wilmington, 4 p.m.
St. John's at Appalachian State, 6 p.m.
Wright State at Central Arkansas, 8 p.m.
Coastal Carolina at Oregon State, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 31
Howard at Longwood (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
Sunday, September 1
1-Georgia Southern at College of Charleston, 3:30 p.m.
Coastal Carolina at Portland, 4 p.m.
Loyola (Md.) at Appalachian State, 6 p.m.
Campbell at Central Arkansas, 7 p.m.
Monday, September 2
Belmont at Georgia State, 6 p.m.
KEY:
1-Under Armour Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
All Times Central and Subject to Change