Mid-American Conference men's soccer tournament explained
The Mid-American Conference men's soccer tournament was the conference championship tournament in soccer for the Mid-American Conference. The tournament was held every year from 1994 until 2019. It was a single-elimination tournament and seeding was based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's soccer championship.
Starting in 2020, the tournament was canceled, and the regular-season champion was declared the conference champion, which was intended to remain in effect until at least 2024. This was in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] However, in 2021 the Conference resumed hosting the tournament.
The MAC discontinued sponsorship of men's soccer at the end of the 2022 season. Conference realignment in the 2020s had decimated MAC men's soccer, leaving it with only five members (four full members plus one single-sport affiliate) in 2022. With no prospect of adding the sixth member needed to preserve the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the MAC shut down its league.[2] In the final season, the tournament, which had featured four teams for its most recent editions, was reduced to a championship game featuring the top two teams in the conference standings.
Winners
The following is a list of MAC Tournament winners:[3]
Key
| (2) | Title number |
| Match went to extra time |
| † | Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time |
| Bold | Winning team won regular season |
| ^ | Winning team reached Men's College Cup |
| Winning team lost National Championship |
| Winning team won National Championship | |
Finals
| Year | Champion | Score[4] | Runner-up | Site | Most valuable player |
|---|
| 1994 | Miami (OH) | align=center bgcolor="FBCEB1" | 3–1* | | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Dan Creech (Miami) |
| 1995 | | 2–0 | Akron | WMU Soccer Complex • Kalamazoo, Michigan | Steve Klein (Bowling Green) |
| 1996 | Bowling Green | 4–0 | Kentucky | Cochrane Stadium • Bowling Green, Ohio | |
| 1997 | | 1–0 | Akron | Miami Soccer Field • Oxford, Ohio | |
| 1998 | Akron | 4–1 | Bowling Green | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Michael Apple (Akron) |
| 1999 | | 2–1 | Northern Illinois | UK Soccer Complex • Lexington, Kentucky | Lee Baker (Kentucky) |
| 2000 | | 1–0 | Bowling Green | Cochrane Stadium • Bowling Green, Ohio | Ilkka Jäntti (Kentucky) |
| 2001 | Kentucky | align=center bgcolor="FBCEB1" | 1–0* | Akron | UK Soccer Complex • Lexington, Kentucky | John Monebrake (Kentucky) |
| 2002 | Akron | 4–1 | Bowling Green | Cochrane Stadium • Bowling Green, Ohio | Kirk Harwat (Akron) |
| 2003 | | 5–0 | Bowling Green | WMU Soccer Complex • Kalamazoo, Michigan | Scott Duhl (Western Michigan) |
| 2004 | | 6–1 | | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Alex Odwell (Akron) |
| 2005 | Akron | align=center bgcolor=cedff2 | 0–0†
| Buffalo | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Ross McKenzie (Akron) |
| 2006 | Northern Illinois | 1–0 | Akron | | Joe Zimka (Northern Illinois) |
| 2007 | Akron | align=center bgcolor="FBCEB1" | 1–0* | Buffalo | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Cory Sipos (Akron) |
| 2008 | Akron | align=center bgcolor="FBCEB1" | 1–0* | Northern Illinois | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Steve Zakuani (Akron) |
| 2009 | Akron | 2–1 | Hartwick | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Teal Bunbury (Akron) |
| 2010 | Akron | 4–0 | Western Michigan | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Darren Mattocks (Akron) |
| 2011 | | 1–0 | Western Michigan | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Sean Totsch (Northern Illinois) |
| 2012 | Akron | 2–0 | Northern Illinois | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Scott Caldwell (Akron) |
| 2013 | Akron | 2–1 | West Virginia | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Aodhan Quinn (Akron) |
| 2014 | Akron | 2–1 | Bowling Green | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Adam Najem (Akron) |
| 2015 | Akron^ | 1–0 | Buffalo | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Adam Najem (Akron) |
| 2016 | Akron | 2–1 | Buffalo | Cub Cadet Field Akron, Ohio | Nick Hinds (Akron) |
| 2017 | Akron^ | 3–1 | Western Michigan | WMU Soccer Complex • Kalamazoo, MI | Stuart Holthusen (Akron) |
| 2018 | | 3–0 | Western Michigan | Dlesk Stadium • Morgantown, West Virginia | Marcel Zajac (Akron) |
| 2019 | West Virginia | 1–0 | Bowling Green | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Steven Tekesky (West Virginia) |
| 2020 | No Tournament Held |
| 2021 | Northern Illinois | align=center bgcolor="FBCEB1" | 2–1* | Georgia State | | Nick Markanich (NIU) |
| 2022 | | align=center | 2–1 | Akron | Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio | Charlie Sharp (Western Michigan) | |
Performance by school
| School | Championships[5] | Winning years |
|---|
| Akron | align=center | 15 | 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Bowling Green | align=center | 3 | 1995, 1996, 1997 |
| Kentucky | align=center | 3 | 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| NIU | align=center | 3 | 2006, 2011, 2021 |
| Western Michigan | align=center | 2 | 2003, 2022 |
| Miami† | align=center | 1 | 1994 |
| West Virginia | align=center | 1 | 2019 |
| TOTAL | align=center | 27 | |
Italics indicate a school that was not a conference member in the MAC's final men's soccer season
† No longer sponsor men's soccer
External links
Notes and References
- News: Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference . Jordan . Strack . . Toledo, OH . May 12, 2020 . May 12, 2020.
- MAC to Suspend Sponsoring Men’s Soccer Following 2022 Season . Mid-American Conference . November 11, 2022 . November 23, 2022.
- Web site: 2015 Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Record Book. Mid-American Conference. MAC-Sports.com. January 9, 2016. 27–52. August 27, 2016.
- Web site: 2016 MAC Men's Soccer Record Book - Mid-American Conference Championship Results. Mid-American Conference. MAC-Sports.com. January 9, 2016. 49–53. August 27, 2016.
- Web site: History of Mid-American Conference Champions: MAC Tournament Titles By School. Mid-American Conference. MAC-Sports.com. January 9, 2017. 29. PDF. August 27, 2016.
