2019 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats
AROUND #SUNBELTMSOC
• Sun Belt Conference men's soccer hits the final stretch of the regular season with six matches this week.
• The Sun Belt Men's Soccer Championship picture remains cloudy with two weeks to go. Appalachian State (9-4-1, 2-1 Sun Belt), Central Arkansas (8-6-1, 2-1) and Howard (5-8-1, 2-1) are in a three-way tie atop the standings with six points each. All six teams each have two conference matches remaining so the championship picture may not become clear until the final horn sounds to close the regular season.
• This week's
NCAA Division I RPI listed four Sun Belt teams in the top 100 – Central Arkansas (25th), Appalachian State (57th), Coastal Carolina (91st) and Georgia State (99th).
• With its shutout over Georgia Southern on Oct. 26, Howard recorded its first conference shutout since 2016. Freshman midfielder Joseph Abusada score his first two collegiate goals in the win over the Eagles. The Bison enter the week on a three-match unbeaten streak for the first time since Oct. 11-18, 2014.
• Howard senior midfielder Andres Gomez leads NCAA Division I in shot accuracy (.727). He is tied for second in the Sun Belt in goals (7).
• Central Arkansas senior forward Niklas Brodacki has scored a point in four of his last five matches. Among the Division I leaders this fall, he ranks tied for second in game-winning goals (5) and tied for 24th in points (22, 10 goals and two assists). Brodacki was listed 84th on the
TopDrawerSoccer.com Midseason Top 100 list.
• Georgia Southern sophomore forward Adam Davie remains the only player in the Sun Belt ranked in the top five in goals (t3rd, 7) and assists (t2nd, 4).
• Six of Coastal Carolina's losses this season have been one-goal decisions and five have been by 1-0 scores.
• Appalachian State and Georgia State are tied for the Sun Belt lead in goals allowed, each allowing just 16 goals through 14 matches.
• Georgia State senior defender Kyle Clinton was
one of 30 men's soccer student-athletes on the initial list for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award®. The initial list will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men’s College Cup® in December.
• 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.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas (Sr., F, Norrkoping, Sweden)
Central Arkansas senior forward Niklas Brodacki broke the school record for most career goals with a hat trick in the 4-1 win at Memphis and added an assist on the Bears' lone goal against Oral Roberts. The win over Memphis came in the next match after the Tigers had upset then third-ranked SMU. Brodacki's first goal came on a penalty kick in the second minute of the match. He hit the back of the net on his next two goals in the 11th and 44th minutes, beating the goalkeeper in one-on-one situations. The active NCAA Division I leader in goals and points has 49 goals and 105 points for his career.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Carlos Caro, Howard (Sr., GK, Silver Spring, Md.)
Howard senior goalkeeper Carlos Caro was a stalwart between the pipes for the Bison, grabbing seven saves in the 3-0 victory over Georgia Southern. Five of his saves came in the second half as Howard scored twice in the second stanza to secure the win. Caro earns Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time with his first coming on Oct. 2, 2018. He enters the week ranked fourth in Division I in saves per game (6.60).
2019 Weekly Award Winners
Offensive Player
September 3: Alhaji Tambadu, Georgia Southern
September 10: Aris Briggs, Georgia State
September 17: Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas
September 24: Sam Snaith, Coastal Carolina
October 1: Frank Rosenwald, Georgia State
October 8: Aldair Cortes, Georgia Southern
October 15: Adam Davie, Georgia Southern
October 22: Tsiki Ntsabeleng, Coastal Carolina
October 29: Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas
Defensive Player
September 3: Alberto Ciroi, Coastal Carolina
September 10: Jacob Madden, Appalachian State
September 17: Marc Olsen, Central Arkansas
September 24: Zeiko Harris, Appalachian State
October 1: Brady Gunter, Appalachian State
October 8: Zeiko Harris, Appalachian State
October 15: Marc Olsen, Central Arkansas
October 22: Alberto Ciroi, Coastal Carolina
October 29: Carlos Caro, Howard
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, October 29
St. Bonaventure at Howard, 2 p.m.
Appalachian State at North Carolina (ACC Network Extra), 6 p.m.
UAB at Georgia State, 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 2
*Appalachian State at Georgia Southern (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
*Central Arkansas at Georgia State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 3
*Howard at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m.
*Sun Belt Conference contest
All Times Central and Subject to Change