# 2019 Big Ten Conference men's soccer season

The 2019 Big Ten Conference men's soccer season was the 29th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The regular season began on August 30, 2019, and concluded on November 3, 2019. The season culminated with the 2019 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Tournament to determine the conference's automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament began on November 10, 2019 and concluded on November 17, 2019.
Indiana finished the season as the Big Ten Champions. Maryland enters the season as the defending NCAA Tournament champions. Indiana went on to win the Big Ten regular season and tournament.

## Background
### Previous season

The previous season was the 28th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The 2018 Big Ten regular season began on August 24, 2018 concluded on October 28, 2018. The season culminated with the 2018 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Tournament to determine the conference's automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Indiana went on to win both the regular season and the tournament, winning all eight of their Big Ten Conference games. They defeated Michigan in the Big Ten Men's Soccer Championship Game.
With the Big Ten title, Indiana earned the conference's automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Tournament, where Maryland, Michigan, and Michigan State joined as at-large berths. The conference had the strongest showing in the NCAA Tournament, where three of their four berths reached the College Cup (Final Four) of the tournament. Big Ten side, Maryland, would defeat Akron in the National Championship Game to win their fourth NCAA title, and their first since 2008.
Concluding the tournament, Indiana senior and captain, Andrew Gutman, won the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year Award as well as the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy. Gutman would forgo an opportunity to sign a homegrown contract with the Chicago Fire and signed with Celtic in Scotland. Indiana sophomore forward, Griffin Dorsey was the highest Big Ten player selected in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, being drafted by Toronto FC ninth overall. Eleven other Big Ten players were selected in the MLS SuperDraft, the most of any collegiate conference, and an additional four signed homegrown player contracts with their parent MLS clubs.

### Coaching changes

Dan Donigan, the former head coach of Rutgers was fired following the 2018 season and was replaced by Fordham head coach, Jim McElderry.
| School | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Rutgers | Dan Donigan | Fired | November 16, 2018 | Preseason | Jim McElderry | December 8, 2018 |

## Head coaches

    As of the 2018 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Big Ten record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA College Cups | NCAA Titles |
| Indiana | Todd Yeagley | Wisconsin | 9 | 129–54–36 (.671) | 122–45–34 (.692) | 35–15–18 (.647) | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Maryland | Sasho Cirovski | Hartford | 26 | 412–156–60 (.704) | 386–143–53 (.709) | 24–9–7 (.688) | 25 | 9 | 3 |
| Michigan | Chaka Daley | Providence | 7 | 151–165–48 (.481) | 61–54–21 (.526) | 23–20–9 (.529) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan State | Damon Rensing | Michigan State (asst.) | 10 | 117–66–30 (.620) | 117–66–30 (.620) | 31–26–13 (.536) | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Northwestern | Tim Lenahan | Lafayette | 18 | 295–209–72 (.575) | 169–140–51 (.540) | 36–60–20 (.397) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | Brian Maisonneuve | Indiana (asst.) | 2 | 1–15–2 (.111) | 1–15–2 (.111) | 0–7–1 (.063) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Penn State | Jeff Cook | Bethlehem Steel (asst.) | 2 | 127–104–36 (.543) | 6–9–2 (.412) | 3–3–2 (.500) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Rutgers | Jim McElderry | Fordham | 1 | 127–125–37 (.503) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | John Trask | UIC | 10 | 129–96–55 (.559) | 75–72–29 (.509) | 26–28–10 (.484) | 2 | 0 | 0 |

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 26, 2019.
| | Team Ranking |
| 1. | Indiana |
| 2. | Maryland |
| 3. | Michigan |
| 4. | Michigan State |
| 5. | Wisconsin |
| 6. | Penn State |
| 7. | Northwestern |
| 8. | Ohio State |
| 9. | Rutgers |

### Preseason national polls

The preseason national polls will be released in July and August 2019.
| | United Soccer | CSN | Top Drawer Soccer |
| Indiana | 2 | 9 | 5 |
| Maryland | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Michigan | 24 | 16 | 13 |
| Michigan State | 7 | 10 | 8 |
| Northwestern | — | — | — |
| Ohio State | — | — | — |
| Penn State | — | — | — |
| Rutgers | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | RV | RV | — |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

Early season tournaments will be announced in late Spring and Summer 2019.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Indiana | IU Credit Union Classic | 1st |
| Indiana | Mike Berticelli Tournament | 1st |
| Maryland | Audi Field Classic | 2nd |
| Northwestern | IU Credit Union Classic | 3rd |
| Northwestern | Chicago Classic | 4th |
| Ohio State | Dayton Classic | 1st |
| Ohio State | Wolstein Classic | 3rd |
| Wisconsin | Chicago Classic | 2nd |

## Postseason
### Big Ten Tournament

The Big Ten Tournament was played from November 9–17. Indiana won the tournament, defeating Michigan in the final.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Indiana | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Maryland | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Maryland | 0 | 1 | Indiana (pen.) | 0 (4) |
| | | | 3 | Michigan | 0 (3) |
| 2 | Penn State | 0 | 3 | Michigan | 0 (3) |
| 3 | Michigan | 1 | | | |

### NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament will begin in November 2019 and conclude on December 17, 2019.
| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| 5 | Winston-Salem | Indiana | BYE | W 3–0 vs. Kentucky – (Bloomington, IN) | L 0–1 (OT) vs. UCSB – (Bloomington, IN) | | | |
| 13 | Winston-Salem | Michigan | BYE | T 0–0 (5–4 PKs) vs. Wright State – (Ann Arbor, MI) | L 1–3 vs. Wake Forest – (Winston-Salem, NC) | | | |
| 15 | Greenville | Penn State | BYE | L 2–3 (OT) vs. Providence – (State College, PA) | | | | |
| — | Winston-Salem | Maryland | W 4–0 vs. Iona – (College Park, MD) | L 0–3 vs. Wake Forest – (Winston-Salem, NC) | | | | |
| W–L–T (%): | W–L–T (%): | W–L–T (%): | 1–0–0 (1.000) | 1–2–1 (.375) | 0–2–0 (.000) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) Total: 2–4–1 (.357) |

## Rankings
### National rankings

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| Indiana | USC | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | None released | None released | None released | None released | 9 |
| Indiana | TDS | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Maryland | USC | 1 | 4 | 24 | 25 | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 23 | 22 | RV | None released | None released | None released | None released | RV |
| Maryland | TDS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21 | NV | NV | NV | 13 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Michigan | USC | 24 | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 17 | None released | None released | None released | None released | 17 |
| Michigan | TDS | 13 | 13 | RV | 18 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | 24 | 17 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Michigan State | USC | 7 | 16 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Michigan State | TDS | 8 | 8 | 6 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Northwestern | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Northwestern | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Ohio State | USC | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Ohio State | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Penn State | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | NV | RV | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 13 | None released | None released | None released | None released | 18 |
| Penn State | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 20 | 22 | RV | 15 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Rutgers | USC | NV | NV | RV | 24 | 22 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Rutgers | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | 25 | 25 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Wisconsin | USC | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Wisconsin | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

### Regional rankings - USC North Region

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10 |
| NV | No votes received |
The USC North Region compares teams across the Big Ten Conference, Horizon League, and Mid-American Conference.
| | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 |
| Indiana | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Michigan | NV | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Michigan State | 4 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Northwestern | 7 | NV | NV | 9 | 5 | NV | NV | NV | 10 | 10 | 9 | NV |
| Ohio State | NV | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Penn State | NV | 9 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Rutgers | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | NV | NV |
| Wisconsin | 9 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

## Statistics
### Shutouts

| Rank | Player | College | Shutouts |
| 1 | Roman Celentano | Indiana | 3 |
| 1 | Parker Siegfried | Ohio State | 3 |
| 1 | Oren Asher | Rutgers | 3 |
| 4 | Sean Caulfield | Indiana | 2 |
| 5 | Niklas Neumann | Maryland | 1 |
| 5 | Andrew Verdi | Michigan | 1 |
| 5 | Hunter Morse | Michigan State | 1 |
| 5 | Kris Shakes | Penn State | 1 |
| 5 | Dean Cowdroy | Wisconsin | 1 |

## Awards and honors
### Player of the week honors

| Week | Offensive | Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive |
| Week | Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team |
| Sep. 4 | Jørgen Wisth Lie | FW | Rutgers | Jack Maher | MF | Indiana |
| Sep. 10 | Joe Ortiz | FW | Ohio State | Sean Caulfield | DF | Indiana |
| Sep. 17 | Devyn Etling | FW | Ohio State | Ben Di Rosa | DF | Maryland |
| Sep. 24 | Nebojša Popović | FW | Michigan | Brandon Hackenberg | DF | Penn State |
| Oct. 1 | Farai Mutatu | FW | Michigan State | Josh Levine | GK | Penn State |
| Oct. 8 | Aidan Morris | FW | Indiana | Jackson Ragen | DF | Michigan |
| Oct. 15 | Liam Butts | FW | Penn State | Roman Celentano | GK | Indiana |
| Oct. 22 | Aaron Molloy | MF | Penn State | Johannes Bergmann | MF | Maryland |
| Oct. 29 | Aidan Morris | FW | Indiana | Niklas Neumann | DF | Maryland |
| Nov. 5 | Christian Sload | FW | Penn State | Jack Maher | MF | Indiana |

### Postseason honors

2019 Big Ten Men's Soccer Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Nebojša Popović, Michigan* |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Aaron Molloy, Penn State* |
| Midfielder of the Year | Jack Maher, Indiana |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Andrew Verdi, Michigan |
| Coach of the Year | Todd Yeagley, Indiana |
| Freshman of the Year | Aidan Morris, Indiana |
2019 Big Ten Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams :
| First Team Honorees | Second Team Honorees | All-Freshman Team Honorees | Sportsmanship Award Honorees |
| Forward Nebojsa Popovic, Michigan* Liam Butts, Penn State Midfield Aidan Morris, Indiana Eli Crognale, Maryland Jack Hallahan, Michigan* Aaron Molloy, Penn State* Defense Jack Maher, Indiana* Johannes Bergmann, Maryland* Jackson Ragen, Michigan Brandon Hackenberg, Penn State Goalkeeper Andrew Verdi, Michigan | Forward Eric Matzelevich, Maryland Matt Moderwell, Northwestern Midfield Joshua Penn, Indiana Marc Ybarra, Michigan Jack Holland, Ohio State Pablo Ávila, Rutgers Defense Spencer Glass, Indiana Simon Waever, Indiana Patrick Nielsen, Michigan State Garrett Opperman, Northwestern Goalkeeper Niklas Neumann, Maryland | Herbert Endeley, Indiana Aidan Morris, Indiana* Joshua Penn, Indiana* Malcolm Johnson, Maryland Nick Richardson, Maryland Derick Broche, Michigan Liam Butts, Penn State* Kris Shakes, Penn State Jalen Watson, Penn State* Hugo Le Guennec, Rutgers Jackson Temple, Rutgers* | Jack Maher, Indiana Nick Richardson, Maryland Kevin Buca, Michigan Cody Sweatte, Michigan State Mac Mazolla, Northwestern Parker Siegfried, Ohio State Will Campbell, Penn State Jake Longo, Rutgers Noah Leibold, Wisconsin |
* denotes unanimous selection

### All-Americans

* Consensus All-Americans
* None
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 News | Soccer America | Top Drawer Soccer | United Soccer Coaches |
| First Team ||||
| None | None | None | None |
| Second Team ||||
| Aaron Molloy – Penn State | Jack Maher – Indiana Aaron Molloy – Penn State | None | Jack Maher – Indiana Aaron Molloy – Penn State |
| Third Team ||||
| Jack Maher – Indiana | Aidan Morris – Indiana | Jack Maher – Indiana | Aidan Morris – Indiana |

### Other awards

* TopDrawerSoccer.com National Freshman of the Year Award: Aidan Morris, Indiana

## 2020 MLS Draft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was held in January 2020. Nine Big Ten players were selected in the draft, all in the first three rounds.
| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | Team | School |
| 1 | 2 | Jack Maher | DF | Nashville SC | Indiana (So.) |
| 1 | 16 | Aaron Molloy | MF | Portland Timbers | Penn State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 23 | Patrick Nielsen | DF | Atlanta United | Michigan State (RS-Jr.) |
| 2 | 46 | Michael Wetungu | DF | Real Salt Lake | Michigan State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 50 | Jack Hallahan | MF | Los Angeles FC | Michigan (Sr.) |
| 2 | 51 | Simon Waever | DF | Real Salt Lake | Indiana (Sr.) |
| 3 | 53 | Joris Ahlinvi | MF | FC Cincinnati | Indiana (Sr.) |
| 3 | 65 | Andrew Verdi | GK | D.C. United | Michigan (Sr.) |
| 3 | 74 | Parker Siegfried | GK | New York City FC | Ohio State (RS-Sr.) |

## 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.
| Original MLS team | Player | Pos. | School | Ref. |
| Columbus Crew | Aidan Morris | MF | Indiana (Fr.) | |