2020 ACC men's soccer tournament
The 2020 ACC men's soccer tournament was the 34th edition of the ACC Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament decided the Atlantic Coast Conference champion and guaranteed representative into the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. The final will be played at Sahlen's Stadium in Cary, North Carolina.[1][2]
| 2020 ACC men's soccer tournament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Division I | ||||
| Teams | 8 | ||||
| Matches | 7 | ||||
| Attendance | 677 | ||||
| Site | Sahlen's Stadium Cary, North Carolina | ||||
| Champions | Clemson (4th title) | ||||
| Winning coach | Mike Noonan (2nd title) | ||||
| MVP | Kimarni Smith (Clemson) | ||||
| Broadcast | ESPNU (Final), ACC Network Extra (all other rounds) | ||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Pittsburgh | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Virginia Tech | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 0 | – | 3 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Wake Forest | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Clemson‡ | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duke | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NC State | 0 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College† | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Source:The ACC Note: † Due to COVID-19, Boston College suspended the Fall 2020 men's soccer season; begins play in March. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
The format of the tournament was announced in conjunction with all other ACC fall sports on July 29, 2020.[3]
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the format of the 2020 tournament changed multiple times. Originally, the 2020 ACC Tournament was to only feature 4 teams with all matches played at Sahlen's Stadium to create an "isolation zone" (similar to the 2020 NBA Bubble) to minimize the spread of the pandemic. The semifinals were to be played on November 13, 2020, with the final was to be played on November 15, 2020.[4]
On September 4, 2020, the format again changed, expanding the tournament from four to eight teams. The quarterfinals to be played on November 15, the semifinals on November 18, and the championship game on November 22.[1]
Qualification
Due to the aforementioned COVID-19 pandemic, only eleven teams participated in the regular season, with Boston College electing to not play. The teams were also divided into a North and South region as opposed to the normal Atlantic and Coastal Divisions. Eight teams qualified for the tournament, the top four teams in each region. In the tournament, teams were paired against the opposite region in the bracket. Higher seeds hosted the quarterfinals and semifinals.[5]
| Finish | Team | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake Forest | 5–1–0 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 3–1–2 |
| 3 | Clemson | 3–2–1 |
| 4 | Duke | 2–4–0 |
| 5 | NC State | 0–5–1 |
| Finish | Team | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 4–0–0 |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 3–1–2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 3–2–0 |
| 4 | Virginia | 2–3–1 |
| 5 | Louisville | 1–4–1 |
| 6 | Syracuse | 0–3–2 |
Fall tournament
| Quarterfinals November 15 | Semifinals November 18 | Final November 22 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Pittsburgh | 2 | ||||||||||||
| S4 | Duke | 1 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Pittsburgh | 3 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | Notre Dame | 1 | ||||||||||||
| S2 | North Carolina | 0 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | Notre Dame | 1OT | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Pittsburgh | 1 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Clemson | 2 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | Wake Forest | 0 | ||||||||||||
| N4 | Virginia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N4 | Virginia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Clemson | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Virginia Tech | 1 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Clemson | 4 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Virginia Tech | 1–4 | Clemson |
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Report |
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| North Carolina | 0–1 (a.e.t.) OT | Notre Dame |
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| Report |
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| Wake Forest | 0–2 | Virginia |
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| Report |
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| Pittsburgh | 2–1 | Duke |
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Report |
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Semifinals
| Clemson | 2–1 | Virginia |
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Report |
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| Pittsburgh | 3–1 | Notre Dame |
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Report |
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Final
| Pittsburgh | 1–2 | Clemson |
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Report |
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Spring Tournament
The ACC played a six-game conference schedule in the spring. The division winners, along with the fall tournament winners, Clemson, played for the ACC's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. As a result of Clemson winning the Atlantic division in the spring, Pittsburgh and Clemson played one game to determine the conference's automatic qualifier.
| Semifinal | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Clemson | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Clemson | - | Pittsburgh | 0 | |||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh | - | |||||||
Semifinal
Final
| Clemson | 2–0 | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
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Statistics
Goalscorers
- 4 Goals
- 3 Goals
Valentin Noel – Pittsburgh
- 2 Goals
James Brighton – Clemson
Cabrel Happi Kamseu – Virginia
Veljko Petković – Pittsburgh
- 1 Goal
Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador – Clemson
Axel Gunnarsson – Virginia- Jack Lynn – Notre Dame
- Aiden McFadden – Notre Dame
- Stephen O'Connell – Duke
Mohamed Seye – Clemson- Kristo Strickler – Virginia Tech
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Jackson Walti – Pittsburgh
All-Tournament team
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| 2020 ACC Men's Soccer All-Tournament team[6] | |
| Kimarni Smith | Clemson |
| Justin Malou | |
| Grayson Barber | |
| Philip Mayaka | |
| Nico Campuzano | Pitt |
| Valentin Noel | |
| Veljko Petković | |
| Mohamed Omar | Notre Dame |
| Jack Lynn | |
| Andreas Ueland | Virginia |
| Bret Halsey | |
MVP in Bold
References
- "ACC Announces Fall Olympic Sports Schedules". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. September 4, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- "2020 ACC Men's Soccer Championship". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- Clark, Travis (July 30, 2020). "ACC announces fall soccer plans". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- "ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports". TheACC.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- "Wake Forest, Pitt Pick Up Top Seeds for 2020 ACC Men's Soccer Championship". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- "Clemson Downs Pitt, 2-1, to Win ACC Men's Soccer Championship". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.