# 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer season

The 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer season was the 33rd season of men's college soccer in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The season began on August 30, 2019, and concluded on November 2, 2019.
The regular season and tournament was won by Rhode Island. Rhode Island bested VCU for the regular season championship and Dayton for the tournament championship. Rhode Island earned the Atlantic 10's automatic, and only, berth into the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, where they lost in the opening round to Syracuse.
Dayton's Jonas Fjeldberg won the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, while Joergen Oland won the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Award. Gareth Elliott won the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Award.

## Background
### Previous season

UMass entered the season as the defending regular season and tournament champions. The Minutemen finished eighth in the regular season and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament by VCU. VCU won the regular season championship, giving the Rams their first A-10 regular season title, and their first regular season championship overall since 2004. Rhode Island won the tournament, given them their first A-10 tournament title since 2006.
Rhode Island at the A-10 Tournament champions, earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. They were the only berth the A-10 sent to the NCAA Tournament. There they were defeated by their rivals, Connecticut, 3–4.

### Coaching changes

Fordham head coach, Jim McElderry, resigned at the end of the 2018 season to accept the head coaching job at Rutgers University. On January 30, 2019, Fordham hired Carlo Acquista as the program's head coach.
| School | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Fordham | Jim McElderry | Hired by Rutgers | December 9, 2018 | Preseason | Carlo Acquista | January 30, 2019 |

## Head coaches

    As of the 2018 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Atlantic 10 record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA College Cups | NCAA Titles |
| Davidson | Mike Babst | UChicago | 1 | 87–23–12 (.762) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dayton | Dennis Currier | Incarnate Word | 14 | 327–139–55 (.680) | 139–90–43 (.590) | 0–0–0 (–) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Duquesne | Chase Brooks | Niagara | 7 | 56–49–21 (.528) | 34–43–12 (.449) | 15–19–6 (.450) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fordham | Carlo Acquista | Adelphi | 1 | 138–127–29 (.519) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| George Mason | Greg Andrulis | Columbus Crew | 14 | 254–174–65 (.581) | 120–102–37 (.535) | 0–0–0 (–) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| George Washington | Craig Jones | George Washington (asst.) | 8 | 48–61–14 (.447) | 48–61–14 (.447) | 22–27–8 (.456) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| La Salle | Rob Irvine | Kean | 3 | 47–50–6 (.485) | 21–36–5 (.379) | 8–13–3 (.396) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UMass | Fran O'Leary | Bowdoin | 4 | 268–169–56 (.600) | 34–34–10 (.500) | 17–11–4 (.594) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | Gareth Elliott | Siena | 7 | 100–89–11 (.528) | 58–49–0 (.542) | 24–22–2 (.521) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Bonaventure | Kwame Oduro | Canisius (asst.) | 4 | 21–46–6 (.329) | 21–46–6 (.329) | 11–20–1 (.359) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Joseph's | Don D'Ambra | Philadelphia Kixx | 9 | 165–213–22 (.440) | 42–97–22 (.329) | 15–50–11 (.270) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Louis | Kevin Kalish | SIU Edwardsville | 2 | 55–50–21 (.520) | 6–4–7 (.559) | 3–1–4 (.625) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VCU | Dave Giffard | Akron (asst.) | 9 | 86–64–28 (.562) | 86–64–28 (.562) | 45–19–11 (.673) | 3 | 0 | 0 |

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 22, 2019.
| | Team Ranking | Points (First) |
| 1. | VCU | 159 (8) |
| 2. | Saint Louis | 146 (2) |
| 3. | Rhode Island | 142 (3) |
| 4. | Dayton | 121 |
| 5. | Fordham | 109 |
| 6. | Davidson | 102 |
| 7. | George Mason | 93 |
| 8. | Saint Joseph's | 78 |
| 9. | UMass | 63 |
| 10. | Duquesne | 57 |
| 11. | George Washington | 55 |
| 12. | St. Bonaventure | 42 |
| 13. | La Salle | 16 |

### Preseason national polls

The preseason national polls will be released in July and August 2019.
| | United Soccer | CSN | Top Drawer Soccer |
| Davidson | — | — | — |
| Dayton | — | — | — |
| Duquesne | — | — | — |
| Fordham | — | — | — |
| George Mason | — | — | — |
| George Washington | — | — | — |
| La Salle | — | — | — |
| UMass | — | — | — |
| Rhode Island | RV | RV | — |
| St. Bonaventure | — | — | — |
| Saint Joseph's | — | — | — |
| Saint Louis | RV | RV | — |
| VCU | RV | — | — |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

Five teams participated in early season soccer tournaments hosted either by themselves or other nearby universities.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Dayton | Dayton Tournament | 2nd |
| Dayton | Ohio State Tournament | 4th |
| Duquesne | RMU–Duquesne Classic | 1st |
| Rhode Island | Ocean State Soccer Cup | 1st |
| St. Bonaventure | UMBC–Navy Tournament | 1st |
| VCU | Stihl Soccer Classic | 2nd |
| VCU | VCU Tournament | 3rd |

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Davidson | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
| Dayton | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Duquesne | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| Fordham | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| George Mason | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| George Washington | 13 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| La Salle | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| UMass | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| Rhode Island | 8 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| St. Bonaventure | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
| Saint Joseph's | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| Saint Louis | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| VCU | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
* Regular season champion and 2019 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament
* 2019 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament

## Postseason
### Atlantic 10 Tournament

The 2019 A-10 Tournament was held from November 9 to November 17. Fordham University hosted the tournament from the semifinals onwards. Rhode Island defended their A10 Tournament title and earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
* v
* t
* e
| Quarterfinals November 9–10 | Quarterfinals November 9–10 | Quarterfinals November 9–10 | Semifinals November 15 | Semifinals November 15 | Semifinals November 15 | Final November 17 | Final November 17 | Final November 17 |
| 1 | Rhode Island | 7 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Davidson | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Davidson | 3 | 1 | Rhode Island (p) | 0 (7) | | | |
| | | | 5 | Fordham | 0 (6) | | | |
| 4 | Saint Louis | 0 | 5 | Fordham | 0 (6) | | | |
| 5 | Fordham | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Fordham | 1 | | | | 1 | Rhode Island | 1 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Dayton | 0 |
| 2 | VCU (p) | 2 (4) | | | | | | | 3 | Dayton | 0 |
| 7 | George Mason | 2 (3) | | | | | | |
| 7 | George Mason | 2 (3) | 2 | VCU | 0 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Dayton | 1 | | | |
| 3 | Dayton | 4 | 3 | Dayton | 1 | | | |
| 6 | La Salle | 0 | | | | | | |

### NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament began on November 17, 2019, and concluded on December 15, 2019.
| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| — | 1 | Rhode Island | L 2–3 vs. Syracuse – (Syracuse, NY) | | | | | |
| | | W–L–T (%): | 0–1–0 (.000) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) Total: 0–1–0 (.000) |

## 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 |
| Davidson | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Davidson | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Dayton | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Dayton | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Duquesne | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Duquesne | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Fordham | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Fordham | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| George Mason | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| George Mason | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| George Washington | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| George Washington | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| La Salle | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| La Salle | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UMass | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| UMass | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Rhode Island | USC | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | None released | None released | None released | None released | RV |
| Rhode Island | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| St. Bonaventure | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| St. Bonaventure | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Saint Joseph's | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Saint Joseph's | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Saint Louis | USC | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Saint Louis | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| VCU | USC | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| VCU | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

### Regional rankings - USC Southeast

| | 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 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 |
| Davidson | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Dayton | NV | NV | NV | NV | 8 | RV | NV | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Duquesne | NV | NV | 10 | 7 | NV | 8 | 10 | NV | NV | NV |
| Fordham | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| George Mason | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| George Washington | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| La Salle | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | 10 | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UMass | 10 | 6 | 7 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Rhode Island | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| St. Bonaventure | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Saint Joseph's | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Saint Louis | NV | NV | NV | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| VCU | 6 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

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

| Week | Offensive | Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Rookie | Ref. |
| Week | Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team | Ref. |
| Week 1 | Tunde Akinlosotu | FW | George Mason | Robbie McKelvey | GK | Duquesne | Maverick McGann | FW | VCU | |
| Week 2 | Ritchie Barry | FW | Duquesne | Marvyn Dorchin | DF | UMass | Alex Hartmann | MF | Saint Joseph's | |
| Week 3 | Max Holdsworth | MF | George Washington | Justin Grady | DF | George Washington | Justin Stone | MF | Davidson | |
| Week 4 | Manel Busquets | FW | Duquesne | Robbie McKelvey | GK | Duquesne | Toluwalase Oladeinbo | MF | Dayton | |
| Week 5 | Omari Cotterell | FW | La Salle | Federico Barrios | GK | Dayton | Carlos Mora | GK | La Salle | |
| Week 5 | Ryo Shimazaki | MF | VCU | Federico Barrios | GK | Dayton | Carlos Mora | GK | La Salle | |
| Week 6 | Edvin Akselsen | FW | Rhode Island | Brett Werner | DF | La Salle | Nate Dragisich | MF | Duquesne | |
| Week 7 | Jonas Fjeldberg | FW | Dayton | Patrick Schulte | GK | Saint Louis | Toluwalase Oladeinbo | MF | Dayton | |
| Week 8 | Jonas Fjeldberg | FW | Dayton | Xavier Zengue | DF | Dayton | Toluwalase Oladeinbo | MF | Dayton | |
| Week 9 | Jonas Fjeldberg | FW | Dayton | Mario Sequeira | GK | VCU | Carlos Mora | GK | La Salle | |
| Week 10 | Lucas Hauth | FW | Davidson | Konstantin Weisa | GK | Fordham | Justin Stone | MF | Davidson | |

### Postseason honors

2019 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Jonas Fjeldberg – Dayton |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jørgen Oland – Fordham |
| Midfielder of the Year | Kingsford Adjei – Dayton |
| Coach of the Year | Gareth Elliott – Rhode Island |
| Freshman of the Year | Toluwalase Oladeinbo – Dayton |
2019 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams :
| First Team Honorees | Second Team Honorees | All-Freshman Team Honorees | Academic Award Honorees |
| Jonas Fjeldberg, Dayton Fillippo Tamburini, Rhode Island Stavros Zarokostas, Rhode Island Leo Novaes, Saint Louis Kingsford Adjei, Dayton Manel Busquets, Duquesne Edvin Akselsen, Rhode Island Jørgen Oland, Fordham Peder Kristiansen, Rhode Island Ryo Shimazaki, VCU Federico Barrios, Dayton | Toluwalase Oladeinbo, Dayton Pat McCarthy, La Salle Biska Biyombo, VCU Devin Boyce, Saint Louis Matteo Kidd, Saint Louis Fortia Munts, VCU Elias Harryson, Dayton Niklas Middrup, Rhode Island Kipp Keller, Saint Louis Ulrik Edvardsen, VCU Stefan Schmidt, Rhode Island | Justin Stone, Davidson Toluwalase Oladeinbo, Dayton Andy Sanchez, Dayton Xavier Zengue, Dayton Nate Dragisich, Duquesne Liam Emson, George Washington Franc Gamiz Quer, La Salle Joshua Pulla, St. Bonaventure Kipp Keller, Saint Louis Mujeeb Murana, Saint Louis Patrick Schulte, Saint Louis | Johannes Pieles, Fordham Ryan Mingachos, George Mason Haukur Hilmarsson, George Washington Noah Lubin, George Washington Ryan Saul, Massachusetts Peder Kristiansen, Rhode Island Niklas Middrup, Rhode Island Stefan Schmidt, Rhode Island Shea Curry, St. Bonaventure David Grana, Saint Joseph's David Viox, Saint Louis Simon Fitch, VCU |

### Regional awards

| Player | Pos. | School | Honor |
| Kingsford Adjei | MF | Dayton | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Edvin Akselsen | MF | Rhode Island | United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Biska Biyombo | FW | VCU | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Manel Busquets | MF | Duquesne | United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Jonas Fjeldberg | FW | Dayton | United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Kipp Keller | MF | Saint Louis | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Peder Kristiansen | DF | Rhode Island | United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Leo Novaes | FW | Saint Louis | United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Jørgen Oland | DF | Fordham | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Ryo Shimazaki | DF | VCU | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Southeast Region |
| Stavros Zarokostas | FW | Rhode Island | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Southeast Region |

### National awards

| Player | Pos. | School | Honor |
| David Grana | DF | Saint Joseph's | CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-American |
| Kipp Keller | MF | Saint Louis | College Soccer News First-Team Freshman All-American |
| Kipp Keller | MF | Saint Louis | TopDrawer Soccer First-Team Freshman All-American |
| Peder Kristiansen | DF | Rhode Island | College Soccer News Third-Team All-American |
| Peder Kristiansen | DF | Rhode Island | Soccer America Third-Team All-American |
| Peder Kristiansen | DF | Rhode Island | United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-American |
| Johannes Pieles | FW | Fordham | CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-American |

## 2020 MLS Draft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was held on January 9, 2020. Three players from the conference were drafted.

### Total picks by school

| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
| Davidson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dayton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Duquesne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fordham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| George Mason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| La Salle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UMass | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| St. Bonaventure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Joseph's | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VCU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |

### List of selections

| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | Team | School |
| 3 | 59 | Ryo Shimazaki | DF | Columbus Crew | VCU (Sr.) |
| 3 | 62 | Stavros Zarokostas | FW | New York Red Bulls | Rhode Island (Sr.) |
| 4 | 94 | Joergen Oland | DF | Portland Timbers | Fordham (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.
No players from the Atlantic 10 Conference signed homegrown contracts.