2019 MAC men's soccer tournament

2019 MAC men's soccer tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Teams6
Matches5
Attendance2,421
Quarterfinals siteHigher seeds
Semifinals siteFirstEnergy Stadium
Akron, OH
Finals siteFirstEnergy Stadium
Akron, OH
ChampionsWest Virginia (1st title)
Winning coachMarlon LeBlanc (1st title)
MVPSteven Tekesky (West Virginia)
BroadcastESPN+
MAC men's soccer tournament
«2018  2021»
2019 Mid-American Conference men's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Akron 4 – 0 – 1 6 – 10 – 2
Western Michigan 2 – 1 – 2 11 – 6 – 2
SIUE 2 – 1 – 2 8 – 5 – 4
Northern Illinois 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 10 – 1
Bowling Green 2 – 3 – 0 13 – 7 – 1
West Virginia ‡ 0 – 4 – 1 10 – 9 – 2
As of 25 November 2019
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source: MAC

The 2019 MAC men's soccer tournament was the 27th and final edition of the MAC Men's Soccer Tournament, a post-season college soccer conference tournament to determine the MAC champion, and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. The 2019 edition of the tournament began on November 12 and concluded on November 17, 2019.

The lowest seeded team in the tournament, West Virginia, won the MAC title, giving the program their first MAC championship, and their first overall conference championship since 1992. It was the first year since 2011 that a team other than Akron won the MAC Tournament. Marlon LeBlanc earned his first conference championship with the program. With the title, West Virginia earned their second consecutive berth into the NCAA Tournament, and their 14th overall berth. West Virginia defeated Butler 5–1 in the opening round[1][2] before losing to in-state rivals, Marshall, 1–2.[3][4][5]

On May 12, 2020 it was announced that the 2019 edition of the tournament would be the final tournament until at least 2024. From 2020 going forward, the regular season champion would be declared the MAC champion, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

Seeds

Seed School Conference Tiebreaker
1 Akron 4–0–1
2 Western Michigan 2–1–2 Goal difference
3 SIUE 2–1–2
4 Bowling Green 2–3–0 BGSU 1–0 vs. NIU
5 Northern Illinois 2–3–0 NIU 0–1 vs. BGSU
6 West Virginia 0–4–1

Bracket

First Round Semifinals Championship
1 Akron 0
4 Bowling Green 2 4 Bowling Green 1
5 Northern Illinois 1 4 Bowling Green 0
6 West Virginia 1
2 Western Michigan 2
3 SIUE 0 3 West Virginia 3
6 West Virginia 1

Schedule

First round

No. 4 Bowling Green2–1 (a.e.t.)No. 5 Northern Illinois
 Report
Attendance: 174
Referee: Donovan Noocha
No. 3 SIUE0–1No. 6 West Virginia
Report
Attendance: 77

Semifinals

No. 2 Western Michigan2–3No. 6 West Virginia
 Report
Attendance: 828
Referee: Kevin Fikar
No. 1 Akron0–1No. 4 Bowling Green
Report
  • Sullivan 18'
Attendance: 828
Referee: Nikola Aleksic

Championship

No. 1 Bowling Green0–1No. 6 West Virginia
Report McCormick 86'
Attendance: 514
Referee: Sorin Stoica

Statistics

Goalscorers

2 Goals
1 Goal

All-Tournament team

Player Team
2020 MAC Men's Soccer All-Tournament team[7]
Skye Harter Akron
Diogo Pacheco
Jaylen Shannon Western Michigan
Daniel Nimick
Chris Sullivan Bowling Green
Anthony Mwembia
Achille Robin
Luke McCormick West Virginia
Josh DiMatteo
Ryan Kellogg
Steven Tekesky

MVP in bold.

References

  1. ^ "West Virginia men's soccer team routs Butler 5-1 in NCAA first round". The Dominion Post. November 21, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. ^ Burkitt, Quinn (November 21, 2019). "West Virginia advances to second round with 5-1 win over Butler". The DA. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Hendrick, Chris (November 24, 2019). "Marshall beats WVU in NCAA soccer tournament". WSAZ-TV. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Caridi, Tony (November 24, 2019). "Marshall knocks off West Virginia in NCAA men's soccer tournament". West Virginia MetroNews Network. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Marshall Thundering Herd vs. West Virginia Mountaineers - NCAA College Soccer". ESPN FC. ESPN. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". Toledo, OH: WTOL. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "West Virginia Captures 2019 MAC Men's Soccer Title". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved June 10, 2020.