ACC men's soccer tournament explained

ACC men's soccer tournament
Optional Subheader:Conference soccer championship
Sport:College soccer
Conference:Atlantic Coast Conference
Number Of Teams:15
Format:Single-elimination tournament
Current Stadium:Sahlen's Stadium
Current Location:Cary, North Carolina
Years:1987–present
Most Recent:2023
Current Champion:Clemson
Most Championships:Virginia (11)
Television:ESPN3, ESPNU

The ACC men's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in soccer for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The tournament has been held every year since 1987. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's soccer championship. Beginning in 2024, the tournament expanded from 12 teams to 15, with the No. 1 seed receiving a first-round bye; seeds 2-8 hosting first-round games; No. 1 seed and top remaining seeds in each bracket hosting quarterfinal games. The semifinals and championship game are all played at the same location.

Champions

Key

(2) Title number
Match went to extra time
Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time
BoldWinning team won regular season
^Winning team reached College Cup
Winning team lost national championship
Winning team won national championship

By year

YearChampionScoreRunner-upVenueTournament MVP
1987North Carolina4–3*NC StateDuke Soccer StadiumDurham, North CarolinaDerek Missimo (UNC)
1988Virginia2–1North CarolinaRiggs FieldClemson, South Carolinanone named
1989Wake Forest2–2NC StateDuke Soccer StadiumDurham, North CarolinaNeil Covone (Wake)
1990NC State2–1VirginiaDuke Soccer StadiumDurham, North CarolinaHenry Gutierrez (NC State)
1991Virginia (2)3–1Wake ForestFetzer Field • Chapel Hill, North CarolinaClaudio Reyna (Virginia)
1992Virginia (3)4–2ClemsonFetzer Field • Chapel Hill, North CarolinaBrad Agoos (Virginia)
1993Virginia (4)2–1ClemsonFetzer Field • Chapel Hill, North CarolinaJaro Zawislan (Clemson)
1994Virginia (5)1–0DukeRiggs FieldClemson, South CarolinaMark Peters (Virginia)
1995Virginia^ (6)1–0ClemsonDuke Soccer StadiumDurham, North CarolinaMike Fisher (Virginia)
1996Maryland2–0VirginiaKlöckner StadiumCharlottesville, VirginiaPierre Venditti (Maryland)
1997Virginia (7)2–0MarylandDisney's Wide World of Sports • Orlando, FloridaBen Olsen (Virginia)
1998Clemson1–0DukeSpry Soccer StadiumWinston-Salem, North CarolinaJosh Campbell (Clemson)
1999Duke2–1*VirginiaSpry Soccer StadiumWinston-Salem, North CarolinaTroy Garner (Duke)
2000North Carolina (2)1–0* VirginiaSpry Soccer StadiumWinston-Salem, North CarolinaCaleb Norkus (UNC)
2001Clemson (2)2–1VirginiaRiggs FieldClemson, South CarolinaIan Fuller (Clemson)
2002Maryland^ (2)3–0VirginiaSAS Soccer ComplexCary, North CarolinaAbe Thompson (Maryland)
2003Virginia (8)1–1Maryland^SAS Soccer ComplexCary, North CarolinaRyan Burke (Virginia)
2004Virginia (9)2–1Maryland^SAS Soccer ComplexCary, North CarolinaJeremy Barlow (Virginia)
2005Duke (2)0–0North CarolinaSAS Soccer ComplexCary, North CarolinaBlake Camp (Duke)
2006Duke (3)1–0* Wake Forest^Maryland SoccerPlex • Germantown, MarylandMichael Videira (Duke)
2007Boston College2–1Wake ForestSAS Soccer ComplexCary, North CarolinaSherron Manswell (BC)
2008Maryland (3)1–0VirginiaWakeMed Soccer ParkCary, North CarolinaJeremy Hall (Maryland)
2009Virginia (10)1–0NC StateWakeMed Soccer ParkCary, North CarolinaDiego Restrepo (Virginia)
2010Maryland (4)1–0North CarolinaWakeMed Soccer ParkCary, North CarolinaZac MacMath (Maryland)
2011North Carolina (3)3–1WakeMed Soccer ParkCary, North CarolinaBen Speas (North Carolina)
2012Maryland^ (5)2–1Maryland SoccerPlex • Germantown, MarylandPatrick Mullins (Maryland)
2013Maryland (6)1–0Virginia^ Maryland SoccerPlex • Germantown, MarylandPatrick Mullins (Maryland)
2014Clemson (3)2-1*WakeMed Soccer ParkCary, North CarolinaPaul Clowes (Clemson)
2015Syracuse^1–0Alumni StadiumNotre Dame, IndianaBen Polk (Syracuse)
2016Wake Forest (2)3–1ClemsonMUSC Health StadiumCharleston, South CarolinaIan Harkes (Wake Forest)
2017Wake Forest (3)0–0VirginiaMUSC Health StadiumCharleston, South CarolinaAndreu Cases Mundet (Wake Forest)
2018Louisville1–0North CarolinaSahlen's StadiumCary, North CarolinaTate Schmitt (Louisville)
2019Virginia (11)3–1ClemsonSahlen's StadiumCary, North CarolinaHenry Kessler (Virginia)
2020Clemson (4)2–1Pittsburgh^Sahlen's StadiumCary, North CarolinaKimarni Smith (Clemson)
2021Notre Dame2–0DukeSahlen's StadiumCary, North CarolinaDawson McCartney (Notre Dame)
2022Syracuse (2)2–0ClemsonSahlen's StadiumCary, North CarolinaRussell Shealy (Syracuse)
2023Clemson (5)1–1North CarolinaSahlen's StadiumCary, North CarolinaOusmane Sylla (Clemson)

By school

Through 2023

SchoolWLTPctTitlesTitle years
Boston College16814012007
Clemson362926751998, 2001, 2014, 2020, 2023
Duke362229631999, 2005, 2006
Louisville 886 112018
Maryland272819261996, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013
NC State351527611990
North Carolina363025831987, 2000, 2011
Notre Dame997212021
Pittsburgh 86710
Syracuse875422015, 2022
Virginia3647219111988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2019
Virginia Tech1871610
Wake Forest3623311031989, 2016, 2017

Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Miami do not sponsor men's soccer.

Pre-tournament champions

Prior to 1987, the champion was determined based on regular season play.

SeasonChampionRunner-up
1953MarylandDuke
1954MarylandNorth Carolina
1955MarylandNorth Carolina
1956MarylandVirginia
1957MarylandVirginia
1958MarylandNorth Carolina
1959MarylandNorth Carolina
1960MarylandDuke
1961MarylandDuke
1962MarylandNorth Carolina
1963MarylandVirginia
1964MarylandNorth Carolina
1965MarylandNorth Carolina
1966Maryland
North Carolina
1967MarylandNorth Carolina
1968MarylandNorth Carolina
1969VirginiaMaryland
1970VirginiaMaryland
1971MarylandDuke
1972ClemsonDuke
1973ClemsonMaryland
1974ClemsonMaryland
1975ClemsonNorth Carolina
1976ClemsonMaryland
1977ClemsonNorth Carolina
1978ClemsonNorth Carolina
1979ClemsonNorth Carolina
Virginia
1980DukeClemson
NC State
1981ClemsonDuke
1982Clemson
Duke
1983VirginiaDuke
1984VirginiaClemson
NC State
1985ClemsonVirginia
1986VirginiaNC State

References