2018 U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program Explained

Year:	2018
No Of Teams:	6
Longest Win Run:	5 games North Carolina (3/14/2018–4/21/2018)
Longest Unbeaten Run:	5 games North Carolina (3/14/2018–4/21/2018)
Tournament:	Finals
Tourneyduration:	April 21, 2018
Championship Date:	April 21, 2018
Championship Location:	W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Collegecup Champ:	North Carolina
Nextseason Year:	2019
Updated:	April 15, 2018

The 2018 U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program was the inaugural edition of the U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program, a spring season competition run by the United States Soccer Federation in which American college soccer teams use IFAB rules instead of NCAA rules. The season began on March 7, 2018, and ran until April 21, 2018.^[1] The last round of matches were hosted by Wake Forest University.^[2]

Six universities participated in the program: Clemson, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wake Forest.^[2] Of these six programs, five are from the Atlantic Coast Conference,^[3] and all are located in the Southeastern United States or Mid-Atlantic regions.^[4]

Rule differences

There were some notable rule difference between the two competitions:^{[5] [6]}

• In NCAA soccer, matches use a countdown clock with stoppages in the clock if there is an extended stop of play. In the Spring College Program, an upward counting clock is employed, and the referee determines stoppage time.
• In NCAA soccer, there are unlimited substitutions and a match day roster up to 30 players. In the first half of a match, if a player is subbed off, they cannot return until the second half. In the second half, there are unlimited substitutions. In the Spring College Program, match day rosters cannot have more than 18 players, and there are a maximum of three substitutions the whole match. Players who are subbed off cannot return.
• In NCAA soccer, if the match is tied at the end of regulation, two-10 minute golden goal overtime periods are employed. If the match is still tied at the end of regulation, the match stands as a draw in regular season matches. In the Spring College Program, the draw stands at the end of regulation.
• In NCAA soccer, there can be up to three matches in a calendar week. In the Spring College Program, there is only one match per week.

See also

• 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season
• 2018 PDL season
• 2018 NPSL season

Notes and References

1. Web site: U.S. Soccer Launches 2018 Spring Men's College Program. USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. April 15, 2018. February 7, 2018.
2. Web site: Showell. Alex. U.S. Soccer announces 2018 spring men's college soccer. StarsAndStripesFC.com. SB Nation. April 14, 2018. February 8, 2018.
3. Web site: Boehm. Charles. US Soccer announces spring developmental program with 6 top NCAA teams. MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. April 15, 2018. February 8, 2018.
4. Web site: Mahoney. Ridge. Spring college program aligned with U.S. Soccer to start next month. SoccerAmerica.com. Soccer America. April 14, 2018. February 8, 2018.
5. Web site: 2016 and 2017 Soccer Rules & Interpretations. NCAAPublications.com. NCAA. April 15, 2018.
6. Web site: Laws of the Game. theifab.com. IFAB. April 15, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20171122145948/http://theifab.com/laws. November 22, 2017. dead.