# 2019 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season

The 2019 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season was the 18th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season began in late August 2019 and concluded in mid-November 2019.

## Background

The 2018 regular season began in August 2018 and concluded in November 2018. The regular season champions, Georgia State, also won the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament and earned the conference's automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. It was Georgia State's first berth into the NCAA tournament since 2011. There, Georgia State were eliminated in the first round in a penalty shoot-out by Charlotte.

## Head coaches

    As of the 2018 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Sun Belt record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA College Cups | NCAA Titles |
| Appalachian State | Jason O'Keefe | North Carolina (asst.) | 4 | 18–23–13 (.454) | 18–23–13 (.454) | 3–7–4 (.357) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Arkansas | Ross Duncan | Vermont (asst.) | 9 | 33–66–9 (.347) | 33–66–9 (.347) | 13–25–6 (.364) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Coastal Carolina | Shaun Docking | Charleston Southern | 22 | 296–144–37 (.659) | 276–125–35 (.673) | 9–4–1 (.679) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia Southern | John Murphy | Anderson (SC) | 4 | 90–67–22 (.564) | 24–23–7 (.509) | 8–4–2 (.643) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia State | Brett Surrency | Jacksonville (asst.) | 10 | 89–75–12 (.540) | 89–75–12 (.540) | 15–6–3 (.688) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Howard | Phillip Gyau | St. John's College High School | 6 | 8–72–13 (.156) | 8–72–13 (.156) | 2–19–3 (.146) | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 13, 2019.
| | Team Ranking | Points | First Place Votes |
| 1. | Coastal Carolina | 28 | 2 |
| 2. | Georgia State | 27 | 2 |
| 2. | Georgia Southern | 27 | 1 |
| 4. | Central Arkansas | 22 | 1 |
| 5. | Appalachian State | 15 | 0 |
| 6. | Howard | 7 | 0 |

### Preseason national polls

The preseason national polls will be released in July and August 2019.
| | United Soccer | CSN | SoccerAmerica | Top DrawerSoccer |
| Appalachian State | — | — | — | — |
| Central Arkansas | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal Carolina | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Georgia Southern | — | — | — | — |
| Georgia State | — | RV | — | — |
| Howard | — | — | — | — |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

Early season tournaments will be announced in late Spring and Summer 2019.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Coastal Carolina | Portland Tournament | 1st |
| Georgia Southern | Aaron Olitsky Tournament | 1st |

### Results

* Index to colors and formatting
* Sun Belt member won
* Sun Belt member lost
* Sun Belt member tied
* Sun Belt teams in bold
All times Eastern time.† denotes Homecoming game

### Week 1 (Aug. 25–31)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| August 30 | 5:00 PM | Georgia Southern | UNCW | Patriot's Point Soccer Stadium • Charleston, SC | | W 4–2 | 673 | Report |
| August 30 | 7:00 PM | #19 St. John's | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | AppVision | L 0–2 | 417 | Report |
| August 30 | 7:00 PM | Georgia State | Presbyterian | Martin Stadium at Edens Field • Clinton, SC | | W 2–1 | 107 | Report |
| August 30 | 9:00 PM | Wright State | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | W 4–1 | 185 | Report |
| August 30 | 10:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | #22 Oregon State | Merlo Field • Portland, OR | | W 2–1 | 210 | Report |
| August 31 | 7:00 PM | Howard | Longwood | Longwood Athletics Complex • Farmville, VA | ESPN+ | L 0–3 | 118 | Report |

### Week 2 (Sep. 1–7)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| September 1 | 4:30 PM | Georgia Southern | Charleston | Patriot's Point Soccer Stadium • Charleston, SC | CAA.tv | W 2–0 | 457 | Report |
| September 1 | 5:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | #20 Portland | Merlo Field • Portland, OR | | W 1–0 | 1,092 | Report |
| September 1 | 7:00 PM | Loyola (MD) | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | AppVision | W 2–1 | 437 | Report |
| September 1 | 8:00 PM | Campbell | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 124 | Report |
| September 2 | 7:00 PM | Belmont | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | | W 3–1 | 108 | Report |
| September 6 | 7:00 PM | George Mason | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | AppVision | W 2–0 | 328 | Report |
| September 6 | 7:00 PM | #12 Coastal Carolina | #10 Charlotte | Transamerica Field • Charlotte, NC | | L 1–2 | 1,017 | Report |
| September 6 | 7:00 PM | Merrimack | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | ESPN+ | Cancelled | | |
| September 7 | 6:00 PM | Georgia State | UNC Asheville | Greenwood Soccer Field • Asheville, NC | | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 374 | Report |
| September 7 | 8:00 PM | Incarnate Wood | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | W 2–1 | 0 | Report |

### Week 3 (Sep. 8–14)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| September 8 | 1:00 PM | Georgia Southern | #18 Florida Gulf Coast | FGCU Soccer Complex • Fort Myers, FL | | L 1–5 | 201 | Report |
| September 8 | 3:00 PM | American | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | AppVision | W 1–0 | 217 | Report |
| September 9 | 7:00 PM | North Florida | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | | W 2–0 | 131 | Report |
| September 10 | 3:00 PM | Mount St. Mary's | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | | L 0–1 | 221 | Report |
| September 10 | 9:00 PM | Central Arkansas | Missouri State | Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium • Springfield, MO | | L 0–1 | 568 | Report |
| September 12 | 3:00 PM | Brown | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | | L 0–1 | 235 | Report |
| September 13 | 7:00 PM | #15 Coastal Carolina | #21 West Virginia | Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium • Morgantown, WV | | L 2–5 | 927 | Report |
| September 13 | 7:00 PM | Georgia Southern | North Florida | Hodges Stadium • Jacksonville, FL | | W 2–1 | 140 | Report |
| September 13 | 8:00 PM | Dayton | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | W 2–1 | 255 | Report |
| September 14 | 7:00 PM | High Point | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | | W 1–0 | 527 | Report |

### Week 4 (Sep. 15–21)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| September 15 | 12:00 PM | Howard | Bryant | Sutton Field • Smithfield, RI | | W 3–2 | 150 | Report |
| September 15 | 2:00 PM | Houston Baptist | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | W 4–0 | 187 | Report |
| September 17 | 3:00 PM | St. Francis Brooklyn | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | | L 0–1 | 97 | Report |
| September 17 | 6:00 PM | Georgia State | Gardner–Webb | Greene–Harbison Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC | | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 57 | Report |
| September 17 | 7:00 PM | Appalachian State | Elon | Rudd Field • Elon, NC | ESV | L 0–1 | 632 | Report |
| September 17 | 7:00 PM | Campbell | #24 Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | | W 1–0 | 145 | Report |
| September 18 | 7:00 PM | Georgia Southern | Stetson | Spec Martin Stadium • DeLand, FL | | L 1–2 | 229 | Report |
| September 21 | 7:00 PM | Appalachian State | UNCG | UNCG Soccer Stadium • Greensboro, NC | SDN | W 4–2 | 712 | Report |
| September 21 | 7:00 PM | Radford | #24 Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | | W 3–2 | 146 | Report |
| September 21 | 7:00 PM | Campbell | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | ESPN+ | L 0–1 | 450 | Report |
| September 21 | 7:00 PM | Winthrop | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | | W 4–0 | 98 | Report |
| September 21 | 8:00 PM | Central Arkansas | UTRGV | UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex • Edinburg, TX | | L 0–1 | 281 | Report |
| September 21 | 8:00 PM | Georgia Southern | UAB | BBVA Field • Birmingham, AL | CUSA.tv | W 3–1 | 261 | Report |

### Week 5 (Sep. 22–28)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| September 22 | 1:00 PM | Howard | Robert Morris | North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA | | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 133 | Report |
| September 24 | 3:00 PM | La Salle | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | | L 0–1 | 240 | Report |
| September 25 | 7:00 PM | UNC Asheville | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | ESPN+ | W 1–0 | 723 | Report |
| September 25 | 7:00 PM | VCU | #24 Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 95 | Report |
| September 27 | 7:00 PM | Mercer | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | TBL | L 2–3 | 300 | Report |
| September 28 | 12:00 PM | Howard | VMI | Patchin Field • Lexington, VA | | W 4–2 | 75 | Report |
| September 28 | 7:00 PM | Georgia State | ETSU | Summers-Taylor Stadium • Johnson City, TN | | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 382 | Report |
| September 28 | 7:30 PM | #24 Coastal Carolina | #8 Kentucky | Bell Soccer Complex • Lexington, KY | | L 0–1 | 1,195 | Report |
| September 28 | 8:00 PM | Central Arkansas | SIU Edwardsville | Ralph Korte Stadium • Edwardsville, IL | | L 0–2 | 475 | Report |

### Week 6 (Sep. 29–Oct. 5)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| October 1 | 6:00 PM | Georgia State | Stetson | Spec Martin Stadium • DeLand, FL | | W 1–0 | 297 | Report |
| October 1 | 7:00 PM | ETSU | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | AppVision | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 782 | Report |
| October 1 | 7:00 PM | USC Upstate | Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | | L 0–1 | 122 | Report |
| October 1 | 7:00 PM | Jacksonville | Georgia Southern | Armstrong Soccer Field • Savannah, GA | | L 0–1 | 453 | Report |
| October 1 | 7:00 PM | Howard | Radford | Patrick Cupp Stadium • Radford, VA | | L 1–2 $^{2OT}$ | 679 | Report |
| October 1 | 8:00 PM | Central Arkansas | #8 SMU | Westcott Field • Dallas, TX | | L 0–3 | 1,985 | Report |
| October 4 | 7:00 PM | Wofford | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | | W 3–2 | 351 | Report |
| October 5 | 7:00 PM | William & Mary | Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | | L 0–1 | 261 | Report |
| October 5 | 7:00 PM | Mercer | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 328 | Report |

### Week 7 (Oct. 6–12)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| October 6 | 2:00 PM | Appalachian State | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | BNN | ASU 1–0 | 258 | Report |
| October 7 | 7:00 PM | Howard | Pittsburgh | Ambrose Urbanic Field • Pittsburgh, PA | ACCN+ | L 0–6 | 207 | Report |
| October 8 | 7:00 PM | Georgia Southern | South Carolina | Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC | SECN+ | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 1,234 | Report |
| October 8 | 8:00 PM | Central Baptist | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | W 10–0 | 326 | Report |
| October 8 | 8:00 PM | Georgia State | Lipscomb | Lipscomb Soccer Complex • Nashville, TN | | L 1–3 | 234 | Report |
| October 11 | 5:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | | UCA 1–0 | 387 | Report |
| October 12 | 7:00 PM | Howard | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | ESPN+ | ASU 4–0 | 815 | Report |
| October 12 | 7:00 PM | Georgia Southern | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | ESPN+ | GSO 2–1 | 382 | Report |

### Week 8 (Oct. 13–19)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Report |
| October 15 | 1:00 PM | Howard | George Washington | Mount Vernon Athletic Field • Washington, DC | A10N | W 1–0 | 122 | Report |
| October 15 | 7:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | UNCW | UNCW Soccer Stadium • Wilmington, NC | | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 862 | Report |
| October 15 | 7:00 PM | Georgia State | Charlotte | Transamerica Field • Charlotte, NC | | W 1–0 | 790 | Report |
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | UAB | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | ESPN+ | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 517 | Report |
| October 18 | 8:00 PM | Central Arkansas | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | | UCA 2–1 | 472 | Report |
| October 19 | 3:00 PM | Georgia State | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | | HOW 2–1 | 261 | Report |
| October 19 | 7:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | ESPN+ | CCU 4–2 | 721 | Report |

### Week 9 (Oct. 20–26)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV |
| October 22 | 7:00 PM | Winthrop | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | TBL |
| October 22 | 8:00 PM | Central Arkansas | Memphis | Mike Rose Soccer Complex • Memphis, TN | |
| October 23 | 7:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | Charleston | Patriot's Point Soccer Stadium • Charleston, SC | |
| October 25 | 7:00 PM | Appalachian State | Penn State | Jeffrey Field • State College, PA | BTN+ |
| October 26 | 1:00 PM | Georgia Southern | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | |
| October 26 | 2:00 PM | Oral Roberts | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | |
| October 26 | 7:00 PM | Georgia State | Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | |

### Week 10 (Oct. 27–Nov. 2)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV |
| October 29 | 3:00 PM | St. Bonaventure | Howard | Greene Stadium • Washington, DC | |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | Appalachian State | North Carolina | Fetzer Field • Chapel Hill, NC | ACCN+ |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | UAB | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | |
| November 2 | 7:00 PM | Appalachian State | Georgia Southern | Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA | ESPN+ |
| November 2 | 8:00 PM | Central Arkansas | Georgia State | GSU Soccer Complex • Decatur, GA | |
| November 3 | 2:00 PM | Howard | Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | |

### Week 11 (Nov. 3–Nov. 9)

| Date | Time (ET) | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV |
| November 9 | 7:00 PM | Georgia State | Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, NC | ESPN+ |
| November 9 | 7:00 PM | Georgia Southern | Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Stadium • Conway, SC | ESPN+ |
| November 9 | 8:00 PM | Howard | Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex • Conway, AR | ESPN+ |

## Postseason
### Sun Belt Tournament

* Semifinals
* 1
* 4
* 2
* 3

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| TBD | | | | | | | | |

## 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 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 |
| Appalachian State | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Appalachian State | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | | | | |
| Central Arkansas | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Central Arkansas | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Coastal Carolina | USC | NV | 12 | 15 | 24 | RV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Coastal Carolina | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Georgia Southern | USC | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Georgia Southern | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Georgia State | USC | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Georgia State | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Howard | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Howard | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |

### Regional rankings - USC Southeast Region

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 |
| Appalachian State | NV | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Central Arkansas | NV | NV | NV | 9 | 10 | NV | 7 |
| Coastal Carolina | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | NV | NV |
| Georgia Southern | 5 | 9 | NV | NV | NV | 8 | NV |
| Georgia State | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Howard | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

## Awards and honors
### Postseason honors

2019 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Individual Awards :
* Award
* Offensive Player of the Year
* Defensive Player of the Year
* Goalkeeper of the Year
* Coach of the Year
* Newcomer of the Year
2019 Sun Belt Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Newcomer Team |

## Home Match Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Gm 1 | Gm 2 | Gm 3 | Gm 4 | Gm 5 | Gm 6 | Gm 7 | Gm 8 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Appalachian State | ASU Soccer Stadium | 1,000 | 417 | 437 | 328 | 217 | 527 | 723 | 782 | — | 3,434 | 491 | 49.1% |
| Central Arkansas | Bill Stephens Stadium | 500 | 185 | 124 | 310 | 255 | 187 | — | | | 1,061 | 212 | 42.4% |
| Coastal Carolina | CCU Soccer Field | 1,000 | 145 | 146 | 95 | 122 | — | | | | 508 | 127 | 12.7% |
| Georgia Southern | Eagle Field | 700 | 450 | 472 | 453 | — | | | | | 1,375 | 458 | 65.5% |
| Georgia State | GSU Soccer Field | 1,500 | 108 | 131 | 98 | — | | | | | 337 | 112 | 7.5% |
| Howard | Greene Stadium | 7,000 | 221 | 235 | 97 | 240 | — | | | | 793 | 199 | 2.8% |
Bold – Exceed capacity †Season High

## 2020 MLS Draft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was held in January 2020. No SBC players were selected in the draft.

## 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 SBC players signed homegrown contract.