# 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season

The 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 53rd year of organized men's college soccer in the United States.
The season was divided into three parts; the regular season, which started with early season tournaments against intraconference opponents, before the second half of the regular season that featured interconference matches. The regular season was held from late August to early November 2011. In mid-November, the conference tournaments were held, and from mid-November to mid-December, the NCAA Tournament was held.
The national champion was the North Carolina Tar Heels whom won the title against the Charlotte 49ers. It was North Carolina's third national championship, and Charlotte's first ever appearance in an NCAA final of any sport.

## Season headlines

Throughout the course of the regular season, six different men's college soccer programs topped the rankings. The Connecticut Huskies were ranked first for four consecutive weeks, being the longest streak to do so in the season. At the end of the regular season, the New Mexico Lobos were the only college team in the nation to remain undefeated, winning 16 matches and only drawing twice.

## Changes from 2010
### Coaching changes

The following is a list of head coaching changes prior to the start of Division I men's soccer season.
| College | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Incoming coach | Former position |
| Albany | Johan Aarnio | Fired | Trevor Gorman | Wright State assistant coach |
| Butler | Kelly Findley | Hired as N.C. State head coach | Paul Snape | Michigan associate coach |
| Canisius | Jim Hesch | Fired | Dermont McGrane | Niagara head coach |
| Creighton | Jamie Clark | Hired as Washington head coach | Elmar Bolowich | North Carolina head coach |
| Hartford | Dan Gaspar | Fired | TBA | TBA |
| NC State | George Tarantini | Fired | Kelly Findley | Butler head coach |
| Niagara | Dermot McGrane | Hired as Canisius head coach | Chase Brooks | Dayton assistant coach |
| NJIT | Pedro Lopes | Fired | Cesar Markovic | Stony Brook head coach |
| North Carolina | Elmar Bolowich | Hired as Creighton head coach | Carlos Somoano | Interim coach |
| North Florida | Ray Bunch | Fired | Derek Marinatos | Furman associate coach |
| Rider | Russ Fager | Fired | Charlie Inverso | Rutgers assistant coach |
| St. Peter's | Guy Abrahamson | Fired | Julian Richens | Rider assistant coach |
| Stony Brook | Cesar Markovic | Hired has NJIT head coach | Ryan Anatol | South Florida assistant coach |
| Washington | Dean Wurzberger | Fired | Jamie Clark | Creighton head coach |

### Rule changes
## Season overview
### Pre-season polls

Several American soccer outlets posted their own preseason top 25 rankings of what were believed to be the strongest men's collegiate soccer teams entering 2011.
NSCAA :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Louisville |
| 2 | Akron |
| 3 | North Carolina |
| 4 | Maryland |
| 5 | SMU |
| 6 | UCLA |
| 7 | California |
| 8 | Connecticut |
| 9 | Michigan |
| 10 | Creighton |
| 11 | Brown |
| 12 | Notre Dame |
| 13 | William & Mary |
| 14 | UC Santa Barbara |
| 15 | Ohio State |
| 16 | South Carolina |
| 17 | Indiana |
| 18 | Penn State |
| 19 | Michigan State |
| 20 | Dartmouth |
| 21 | Butler |
| 22 | Virginia |
| 23 | Duke |
| 24 | UC Irvine |
| 25 | Boston College |
Soccer America :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Louisville |
| 2 | UCLA |
| 3 | North Carolina |
| 4 | Akron |
| 5 | Connecticut |
| 6 | Creighton |
| 7 | SMU |
| 8 | Maryland |
| 9 | Notre Dame |
| 10 | UC Santa Barbara |
| 11 | Virginia |
| 12 | Duke |
| 13 | Wake Forest |
| 14 | Brown |
| 15 | Ohio State |
| 16 | South Florida |
| 17 | West Virginia |
| 18 | Indiana |
| 19 | UCF |
| 20 | California |
| 21 | Monmouth |
| 22 | FGCU |
| 23 | Boston College |
| 24 | Loyola Marymount |
| 25 | Old Dominion |
Fox Soccer/SBI :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Louisville |
| 2 | UCLA |
| 3 | Akron |
| 4 | North Carolina |
| 5 | Maryland |
| 6 | SMU |
| 7 | Creighton |
| 8 | Connecticut |
| 9 | Duke |
| 10 | UC Santa Barbara |
| 11 | Virginia |
| 12 | Notre Dame |
| 13 | Ohio State |
| 14 | Wake Forest |
| 15 | West Virginia |
| 16 | Indiana |
| 17 | South Florida |
| 18 | Penn State |
| 19 | Boston College |
| 20 | Furman |
| 21 | California |
| 22 | Monmouth |
| 23 | William & Mary |
| 24 | Michigan |
| 25 | FGCU |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

| Name | Dates | Num. teams | Champions |
| ShinDigz Soccer Festival | Aug. 18–20 | 2 | Akron Creighton |
| Cal State Northridge Labor Day Classic | Sept. 1–3 | 4 | Akron |
| Hokie Invitational | Sept. 2–4 | 4 | Virginia |
| Ocean State Classic | Sept. 2–4 | 4 | Brown |
| VCU Invitational | Sept. 2–4 | 4 | VCU |
| Brown Soccer Classic | Sept. 8–12 | 4 | Brown |
| Hurricane Classic | Sept. 8–12 | 4 | Connecticut |
| Stihl Soccer Classic | Sept. 8–12 | 4 | Old Dominion |
| Akron Soccer Tournament | Sept. 16–18 | 4 | Akron |

### Conference standings
#### Key

Team won conference tournament and automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.  Team earned a berth in NCAA tournament through an at-large bid  Qualified conference tournament, but did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.

### Conference regular season and tournament winners

Thirty athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular-season champion.
| Conference | Regular Season Winner | Conference Tournament | Tournament Venue (City) | Tournament Winner |
| America East | Boston University | 2011 America East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Nickerson Field (Boston, Massachusetts) | Stony Brook |
| Atlantic Coast | North Carolina | 2011 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament | WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, North Carolina) | North Carolina |
| Atlantic Ten | Charlotte | 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Hermann Stadium (St. Louis, Missouri) | Xavier |
| Atlantic Soccer | Florida Atlantic | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Atlantic Sun | FGCU | 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Summers-Taylor Stadium (Johnson City, Tennessee) | FGCU |
| Big East | Blue: Marquette Red: USF | 2011 Big East Men's Soccer Tournament | Red Bull Arena (Harrison, New Jersey) | St. John's |
| Big South | Coastal Carolina | 2011 Big South Men's Soccer Tournament | Greene-Harbison Field (Boiling Springs, North Carolina) | Liberty |
| Big Ten | Northwestern | 2011 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | U-M Soccer Stadium (Ann Arbor, Michigan) | Northwestern |
| Big West | UC Irvine | 2011 Big West Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Anteater Stadium (Irvine, California) | UC Irvine |
| Colonial | James Madison | 2011 CAA Men's Soccer Tournament | JMU Lacrosse/Soccer Complex (Harrisonburg, Virginia) | Delaware |
| Conference USA | UAB | 2011 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament | Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium (Tulsa, Oklahoma) | SMU |
| Horizon | Valparaiso | 2011 Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament | Eastgate Field (Valparaiso, Indiana) | Loyola |
| Ivy | Brown | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Metro Atlantic | Fairfield | 2011 MAAC Men's Soccer Tournament | Hess Field (Lake Buena Vista, Florida) | Fairfield Stags men's soccer |
| Mid-American | Akron | 2011 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament | FirstEnergy Stadium (Akron, Ohio) | Northern Illinois |
| Missouri Valley | Missouri State | 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Morrison Stadium (Omaha, Nebraska) | Creighton |
| Mountain Pacific | New Mexico | 2011 MPSF Men's Soccer Tournament | CIBER Field (Denver, Colorado) | New Mexico |
| Northeast | Central Connecticut State | 2011 Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | The Great Lawn (West Long Branch, New Jersey) | Monmouth |
| Pac-12 | UCLA | 2011 Pac-12 Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Maloney Field (Stanford, California) | UCLA |
| Patriot | American | 2011 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament | Tournament venue (Tournament City, State) | Colgate |
| Southern | UNC Greensboro | 2011 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Tournament venue (Tournament City, State) | Elon |
| Summit | Western Illinois | 2011 The Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament | Tournament venue (Tournament City, State) | Western Illinois |
| West Coast | Saint Mary's | 2011 West Coast Conference Men's Soccer Tournament | Tournament venue (Tournament City, State) | Saint Mary's |

### Major upsets

In this list, a "major upset" is defined by a team that's ranked 10 or more spots lower, or an unranked team that defeats a team ranked #15 or higher.
| Date | Winner | Score | Loser |
| September 2 | Providence | 1–0 | #11 Brown |
| September 4 | UC Davis | 2–1 | #6 UCLA |
| September 11 | Virginia Tech | 1–0 | #1 North Carolina |
| September 11 | ESTU | 2–0 | #14 William & Mary |
| September 24 | George Mason | 1–0 | #15 Old Dominion |
| October 5 | #20 San Diego State | 3–2 | #3 Akron |
| October 7 | #23 Virginia | 2–1 | #2 Maryland |
| October 12 | Missouri State | 1–0 | #4 Creighton |
| October 17 | Davidson | 1–0 | #2 North Carolina |

### Statistical leaders
#### Overall
##### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | College | Goals |
| 1 | Ashton Bennett | Coastal Carolina | 23 |
| 2 | Darren Mattocks | Akron | 21 |
| 3 | Mark Sherrod | Memphis | 19 |
| 4 | Chandler Hoffman | UCLA | 18 |
| 4 | Gyasi Zardes | CSU Bakersfield | 18 |
| 6 | Luis Silva | UC Santa Barbara | 17 |
| 6 | Casey Townsend | Maryland | 17 |
| 6 | Andrew Wenger | Duke | 17 |
| 9 | Dom Dwyer | South Florida | 16 |
| 9 | Billy Schuler | North Carolina | 16 |
| 9 | Yannick Smith | Old Dominion | 16 |
Last updated on December 23, 2011. Source: NCAA.com - Total Goals

##### Most assists

| Rank | Scorer | College | Goals |
| 1 | Franklin Castellanos | Iona | 14 |
| 2 | Jesus Sanchez | CSU Bakersfield | 13 |
| 3 | Christopher Tweed-Kent | Duke | 12 |
| 4 | Scott Caldwell | Akron Zips | 11 |
| 4 | Liam Collins | Memphis | 11 |
| 4 | Enzo Martinez | North Carolina | 11 |
| 4 | Juan Peralta | Vermont | 11 |
Last updated on December 23, 2011. Source: NCAA.com - Total Assists

#### Per match

| Points per game | Points per game | Points per game | Goals per game | Goals per game | Goals per game | Assists per game | Assists per game | Assists per game | Saves per game | Saves per game | Saves per game |
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | GPG | Player | School | APG | Player | School | SVPG |
| Ashton Bennett | Coastal Carolina | 2.41 | Mark Sherrod | Memphis | 1.06 | Franklin Castellanos | Iona | 0.74 | John McCarthy | La Salle | 7.94 |
| Mark Sherrod | Memphis | 2.33 | Ashton Bennett | Coastal Carolina | 1.05 | Juan Peralta | Vermont | 0.65 | Lassi Hurskainen | UNC Asheville | 6.68 |
| Max Touloute | IPFW | 2.19 | Darren Mattocks | Akron | 0.95 | Jesus Sanchez | CSU Bakersfield | 0.62 | Thomas Hand | Richmond | 6.64 |
| Darren Mattocks | Akron | 2.09 | Gyasi Zardes | CSU Bakersfield | 0.90 | Liam Collins | Memphis | 0.61 | Taylor Feuerstein | VMI | 6.50 |
| Luis Silva | UC Santa Barbara | 2.00 | Yannick Smith | Old Dominion | 0.84 | Matt Lodge | Kentucky | 0.59 | Andrew D'Ottavi | Saint Joseph's | 6.33 |
| Save Percentage | Save Percentage | Save Percentage | Goals Against Average | Goals Against Average | Goals Against Average | Goalkeeper Min. Played | Goalkeeper Min. Played | Goalkeeper Min. Played | Saves | Saves | Saves |
| Player | School | SV% | Player | School | GAA | Player | School | MP | Player | School | SV% |
| Brian Holt | Creighton | .923 | Brian Holt | Creighton | .207 | | | | John McCarthy | La Salle | 143 |
| Graham Heydt | Lafayette | .908 | Andre Blake | Connecticut | .385 | | | | Lassi Hurskainen | UNC Asheville | 127 |
| Ciaran Nugent | Lehigh | .896 | Ciaran Nugent | Lehigh | .412 | | | | George Ellis | Manhattan | 110 |
| Andre Blake | Connecticut | .888 | Victor Rodriguez | New Mexico | .493 | | | | Jonathan Lester | San Jose State | 105 |
| Darius Motazed | Saint Francis (Pa.) | .882 | Graham Heydt | Lafayette | .504 | | | | Brendan Roslund | San Francisco | 101 |

## NCAA tournament
### College Cup – Hoover, Alabama

| National semifinals December 9 | National semifinals December 9 | National semifinals December 9 | National championship December 11 | National championship December 11 | National championship December 11 |
| 1 | North Carolina | 2(3) | | | |
| 13 | UCLA | 2(1) | | | |
| 13 | UCLA | 2(1) | 1 | North Carolina | 1 |
| | | | | Charlotte | 0 |
| | Charlotte | 0(4) | | Charlotte | 0 |
| 2 | Creighton | 0(1) | | | |

## Award winners
### NSCAA/Continental Tire Men's NCAA Division I All-America Team

On December 9, 2011, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America released their All-American teams for the 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The list included a first, second and third team.

#### First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Brian Holt (Creighton) |
| 2 | DF | USA | Chris Estridge (Indiana) |
| 3 | DF | USA | Matt Hedges (North Carolina) |
| 4 | DF | USA | Charles Rodriguez (Charlotte) |
| 5 | MF | USA | Miguel Ibarra (UC Irvine) |
| 6 | MF | URU | Enzo Martinez (North Carolina) |
| 7 | MF | USA | Luis Silva (UC Santa Barbara) |
| 8 | FW | JAM | Ashton Bennett (Coastal Carolina) |
| 9 | FW | USA | Ethan Finlay (Creighton) |
| 10 | FW | USA | Billy Schuler (North Carolina) |
| 11 | FW | USA | Andrew Wenger (Duke) |

#### Second team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Brian Rowe (UCLA) |
| 2 | DF | USA | R. J. Allen (Monmouth) |
| 3 | DF | USA | Andrew Duran (Creighton) |
| 4 | DF | USA | Kyle Venter (New Mexico) |
| 5 | MF | USA | Carlos Alvarez (Connecticut) |
| 6 | MF | USA | Greg Jordan (Creighton) |
| 7 | MF | USA | Lance Rozeboom (New Mexico) |
| 8 | MF | USA | Paul Wyatt (James Madison) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Dom Dwyer (South Florida) |
| 10 | FW | GHA | Evans Frimpong (Delaware) |
| 11 | FW | JAM | Darren Mattocks (Akron) |
| 12 | FW | USA | Casey Townsend (Maryland) |

#### Third team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Andre Blake (Connecticut) |
| 2 | DF | USA | Austin Berry (Louisville) |
| 3 | DF | USA | Eric Schoenle (West Virginia) |
| 4 | DF | USA | Walker Zimmerman (Furman) |
| 5 | MF | USA | Scott Caldwell (Akron) |
| 6 | MF | COL | Jonathan Mendoza (Stetson) |
| 7 | MF | BRA | Pedro Ribeiro (Coastal Carolina) |
| 8 | MF | USA | John Stertzer (Maryland) |
| 9 | FW | USA | Chandler Hoffman (UCLA) |
| 10 | FW | USA | Mark Sherrod (Memphis) |
| 11 | FW | JAM | Yannick Smith (Old Dominion) |
| 12 | FW | USA | Gyasi Zardes (CSU Bakersfield) |