2020 Big South Conference men's soccer season

2020 Big South Conference men's soccer season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportSoccer
DurationFebruary 21 – April 8, 2021
Number of teams10
2021 MLS SuperDraft
Regular Season
Tournament
Big South Conference men's soccer seasons
2021 →
2020 Big South Conference men's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 23 High Point ‡ 8 – 0 – 0 12 – 2 – 0
USC Upstate 6 – 1 – 1 6 – 4 – 2
Campbell 5 – 1 – 1 8 – 2 – 2
UNC Asheville 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Gardner–Webb 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Presbyterian 2 – 4 – 2 4 – 4 – 2
Radford 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Longwood 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Winthrop 0 – 7 – 1 0 – 8 – 1
As of May 28, 2021
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

The 2020 Big South Conference men's soccer season was the 37th edition of Big South Conference men's varsity soccer. The season began on February 21 and concluded on April 8, 2021.

The season was originally scheduled to be played from August 28 to November 6, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the season

Further information: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football

The COVID-19 pandemic widely disrupted all sporting activities across the NCAA, including men's soccer. Prior to the pandemic, the regular season was scheduled to begin on August 30, 2020 and conclude on November 6, 2020 culminating with the Big South Tournament in mid-November and the NCAA Tournament in late November into mid-December.

On July 22, 2020, the conference announced plans to begin the season during the fall 2020 semester, with a September 3 start date.[1] On August 12, 2020, the conference reversed its decision, cancelling fall sporting activities, and targeting a spring 2021 semester start for all fall sports.[2]

Details around the spring 2021 season became known on November 5, 2020 when the Big South Conference announced the schedule for the spring of 2021.[3] Teams would play an eight-match conference schedule starting on February 21, 2021.[3] Teams are permitted to schedule three non-conference matches, starting no earlier than February 14, 2021. The final game of the regular season was scheduled for April 8, 2021.[3]

The tournament was reduced to four teams and will begin on April 12, 2021 and conclude on April 18, 2021.[3]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Campbell Fighting Camels Indianapolis, Indiana Eakes Athletic Complex 1,000
Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs Boiling Springs, North Carolina Greene-Harbison Soccer Stadium 800
High Point Panthers High Point, North Carolina Vert Stadium 1,100
Longwood Lancers Farmville, Virginia Longwood Athletics Complex 350
Presbyterian Blue Hose Clinton, South Carolina Martin Stadium 400
Radford Highlanders Radford, Virginia Cupp Memorial Stadium 5,000
UNC Asheville Bulldogs Asheville, North Carolina Greenwood Soccer Field 1,000
USC Upstate Spartans Spartanburg, South Carolina County University Soccer Stadium 3,000
Winthrop Eagles Rock Hill, South Carolina Eagle Field 1,500

Head coaches

As of the 2019 season
Team Head coach Previous job Years at
school 		Overall record Record at
school 		BSC
record 		NCAA
Tournaments[4] 		NCAA
College Cups[4] 		NCAA
Titles[4] 		Ref.
Campbell Dustin Fonder High Point 6 128–102–26 (.551) 50–39–8 (.557) 63–34–12 (.633) 2 0 0 [5]
Gardner–Webb 0 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0 0 0
High Point Zach Haines Denver (asst.) 2 13–7–0 (.650) 13–7–0 (.650) 7–1–0 (.875) 0 0 0 [6]
Longwood 0 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0 0 0
Presbyterian 0 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0 0 0
Radford 0 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0 0 0
UNC Asheville 0 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0 0 0
USC Upstate Scott Halkett USC Upstate (asst.) 4 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0–0–0 (–) 0 0 0 [7]
Winthrop Daniel Ridenhour Winthrop (asst.) 5 17–44–5 (.295) 17–44–5 (.295) 9–17–3 (.362) 0 0 0 [8]

Preseason

Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on January 28, 2021.[9]

Team Ranking Points First Place Votes
1. Campbell 76 6
2. High Point 70 1
3. Gardner–Webb 53 1
4. Presbyterian 50 0
5. USC Upstate 41 0
6. Longwood 36 1
7. Winthrop 34 0
8. Radford 28 0
9. UNC Asheville 17 0

Preseason national polls

The preseason national rankings are normally announced in August. United Soccer Coaches, Soccer America, and TopDrawerSoccer.com delayed their Top-25 preseason poll to the start of the spring season. CollegeSoccerNews.com did a Top-30 preseason poll in September 2020.[10] TopDrawer Soccer, Soccer America, and United Soccer Coaches released their rankings in February 2021.

United
Soccer 		CSN[10] Soccer
America 		TopDrawer
Soccer[11]
Campbell — — — —
Gardner–Webb — — — —
High Point — — — RV
Longwood — — — —
Presbyterian — — — —
Radford — — — —
UNC Asheville — — — —
USC Upstate — — — —
Winthrop — — — —

Preseason honors

  • Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Matt Lock, Campbell
  • Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Luca Ziegler, Presbyterian

Regular season

Weekly results

Legend
Index to colors and formatting
BSC member won
BSC member lost
BSC member tied
BSC teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

Week 1 (Feb. 3 – Feb. 7)

No Big South Teams scheduled matches during Week 1.

Week 2 (Feb. 8 – Feb. 14)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
February 14 2:00 p.m. Winthrop South Carolina Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC 2-4 167
February 14 2:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb VMI Patchin Field • Lexington, VA 5-0 0
February 14 3:00 p.m. Longwood Liberty Liberty Soccer Stadium • Lynchburg, VA Postponed
February 14 3:00 p.m. USC Upstate Wofford Snyder Field • Spartanburg, SC Postponed
February 14 4:00 p.m. Shaw University Campbell Eakes Athletics Complex • Buies Creek, NC 0-2 25
February 14 4:00 p.m. Lees–McRae High Point Vert Stadium • High Point, NC 0-5 0

Week 3 (Feb. 15 – Feb. 21)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
February 17 3:00 p.m. Wofford Winthrop Eagle Field • Rock Hill, SC Cancelled
February 17 5:00 p.m. Radford Liberty Liberty Soccer Stadium • Lynchburg, VA 0-4 250
February 17 6:00 p.m. VCU Longwood Longwood Athletics Complex • Farmville, VA Postponed
February 17 7:00 p.m. USC Upstate South Carolina Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC 1-2 (OT) 210
February 21 1:00 p.m. Longwood UNC Asheville Greenwood Soccer Field • Asheville, NC 1-2 1
February 21 3:30 p.m. Radford USC Upstate County University Soccer Stadium • Spartanburg, SC 1-2 155
February 21 4:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb High Point Vert Stadium • High Point, NC 0-4 0

Week 4 (Feb. 22 – Feb. 28)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
February 22 7:00 p.m. Winthrop Campbell Eakes Athletics Complex • Buies Creek, NC 0-6 60
February 24 6:00 p.m. UNC Greensboro Gardner–Webb Greene-Harbison Stadium • Shelby, NC
February 24 7:00 p.m. Furman USC Upstate County University Soccer Stadium • Spartanburg, SC
February 25 7:00 p.m. Davidson High Point Vert Stadium • High Point, NC
February 28 1:30 p.m. Longwood Presbyterian Martin Stadium • Clinton, SC
February 28 2:00 p.m. Campbell USC Upstate County University Soccer Stadium • Spartanburg, SC
February 28 2:00 p.m. Winthrop UNC Asheville Greenwood Soccer Field • Asheville, NC
February 28 4:00 p.m. Radford Gardner–Webb Greene-Harbison Stadium • Shelby, NC

Week 5 (Mar. 1 – Mar. 7)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
March 1 7:00 p.m. High Point Liberty Liberty Soccer Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
March 2 6:00 p.m. Furman Gardner–Webb Greene-Harbison Stadium • Shelby, NC
March 3 6:00 p.m. Campbell UNC Wilmington UNCW Soccer Stadium • Wilmington, NC
March 3 7:00 p.m. Presbyterian USC Upstate County University Soccer Stadium • Spartanburg, SC
March 4 7:00 p.m. VMI Radford Cupp Stadium • Radford, VA
March 7 2:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb Longwood Longwood Athletics Complex • Farmville, VA
March 7 2:00 p.m. High Point Presbyterian Martin Stadium • Clinton, SC
March 7 3:00 p.m. USC Upstate Winthrop Eagle Field • Rock Hill, SC
March 7 6:00 p.m. UNC Asheville Campbell Eakes Athletics Complex • Buies Creek, NC

Week 6 (Mar. 8 – Mar. 14)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
March 10 4:00 p.m. Longwood VMI Patchin Field • Lexington, VA
March 11 4:00 p.m. UNC Asheville Radford Cupp Stadium • Radford, VA
March 13 6:00 p.m. High Point Campbell Eakes Athletics Complex • Buies Creek, NC
March 14 2:00 p.m. USC Upstate Longwood Longwood Athletics Complex • Farmville, VA
March 14 2:00 p.m. Winthrop Radford Cupp Memorial Stadium • Radford, VA
March 14 3:00 p.m. Presbyterian Gardner–Webb Greene-Harbison Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC

Week 7 (Mar. 15 – Mar. 21)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
March 17 7:00 p.m. High Point Winthrop Eagle Field • Rock Hill, SC
March 20 6:00 p.m. Presbyterian Campbell Eakes Athletics Complex • Buies Creek, NC
March 21 3:00 p.m. USC Upstate UNC Asheville Greenwood Soccer Field • Asheville, NC
March 21 6:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb Winthrop Eagle Field • Rock Hill, SC
March 22 7:00 p.m. Radford High Point Vert Stadium • High Point, NC

Week 8 (Mar. 22 – Mar. 28)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
March 24 6:00 p.m. Campbell Longwood Longwood Athletics Complex • Farmville, VA
March 27 5:00 p.m. High Point USC Upstate County University Soccer Stadium • Spartanburg, SC
March 28 6:00 p.m. Longwood Winthrop Eagle Field • Rock Hill, SC
March 28 6:00 p.m. Elon Campbell Eakes Athletics Complex • Buies Creek, NC
March 28 2:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb UNC Asheville Greenwood Soccer Field • Asheville, NC
March 28 4:00 p.m. Presbyterian Radford Cupp Memorial Stadium • Radford, VA

Week 9 (Mar. 29 – Apr. 4)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
April 2 7:00 p.m. Winthrop Furman Eugene E. Stone III Stadium • Greenville, SC
April 3 4:00 p.m. USC Upstate Gardner–Webb Greene-Harbison Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC
April 3 7:00 p.m. Longwood High Point Vert Stadium • High Point, NC
April 3 7:00 p.m. UNC Asheville Presbyterian Martin Stadium • Clinton, SC
April 3 1:00 p.m. Campbell Radford Cupp Memorial Stadium • Radford, VA

Week 10 (Apr. 5 – Apr. 11)

Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance
April 8 4:00 p.m. Winthrop Presbyterian Martin Stadium • Clinton, SC
April 8 4:00 p.m. Campbell Gardner–Webb Greene-Harbison Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC
April 8 6:00 p.m. Radford Longwood Longwood Athletics Complex • Farmville, VA
April 8 7:00 p.m. UNC Asheville High Point Vert Stadium • High Point, NC

Postseason

Big South Tournament

Main article: 2020 Big South Conference Men's Soccer Tournament

The top four teams will qualify for the tournament. The tournament will be played April 12–18.

Semifinals
April 12 		Championship
April 18
      
1  
4  
 
 
2  
3  

NCAA Tournament

Main article: 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament

The Big South Tournament winner will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Other teams can still earn an at-large bid into the tournament.

Postseason awards and honors

2020 Big South Men's Soccer Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Attacking Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Freshman of the Year
2020 Big South Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team Second Team Rookie Team

MLS SuperDraft

Main article: 2021 MLS SuperDraft

The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was held in January 2021.

Total picks by school

Team Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total
Campbell 1
Total 0 0 1 0 0

List of selections

Round Pick # MLS team Player Position College
3 75 FC Dallas France Thibaut Jacquel DF Campbell

Notable undrafted players

The following players went pro after the 2020 season despite not getting drafted in the 2021 MLS draft.

Player Nationality Position College Team League

References

  1. ^ "Big South To Begin Fall Sport Competition September 3". bigsouthsports.com. Big South Conference. July 22, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Big South Delays Fall Season, Targets Spring". bigsouthsports.com. August 12, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Big South Announces Men's Soccer 2021 Spring Schedule". bigsouthsports.com. November 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. ncaa.org. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Dustin Fonder's statistics:
  6. ^ "Zach Haines - Head Coach - Men's Soccer". highpointpanthers.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "Men's Soccer Records and Archive". upstatespartans.com. University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics. December 23, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Daniel Ridenhour's statistics:
    • 2019 season statistics: "2019 Men's Soccer Schedule". winthropeagles.com. Winthrop University Athletics. November 10, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
    • 2018 season statistics: "2018 Men's Soccer Schedule". winthropeagles.com. Winthrop University Athletics. October 30, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
    • 2017 season statistics: "2017 Men's Soccer Schedule". winthropeagles.com. Winthrop University Athletics. November 1, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
    • 2016 season statistics: "2016 Men's Soccer Schedule". winthropeagles.com. Winthrop University Athletics. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "Big South Announces 2021 Spring Men's Soccer Preseason Poll and Honors". bigsouthsports.com. January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "College Soccer News 2020 Preseason Top 30 National Poll – College Soccer News". CollegeSoccerNews.com. September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  11. ^ "College Soccer National Ranking - Men's DI Top 25". TopDrawer Soccer. February 1, 2021. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.