2020 Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportSoccer
DurationSeptember 2020 – November 2020
Number of teams13
2021 NWSL Draft
Top draft pickEmily Fox
Picked byRacing Louisville FC, 1st overall
Regular season
Season championsNorth Carolina & Florida State
  Runners-upVirginia
Season MVPOffensive: Emina Ekic
Midfielder: Jaelin Howell
Defensive: Malia Berkely
Top scorerAmanda West – Pittsburgh[1]
Tournament
ChampionsFlorida State
  Runners-upNorth Carolina
Finals MVPClara Robbins – Florida State
ACC women's soccer seasons
2020 ACC women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 2 Florida State  ‍y 8 0 0   1.000 13 0 3   .906
No. 3 North Carolina  ‍‍‍y 8 0 0   1.000 18 2 0   .900
No. 4 Virginia  ‍‍‍y 5 2 1   .688 14 4 3   .738
No. 6 Clemson  ‍‍‍y 5 3 0   .625 12 5 2   .684
No. 7 Duke  ‍‍‍y 4 2 2   .625 12 5 4   .667
Louisville  ‍‍‍ 4 4 0   .500 5 7 0   .417
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 4 4 0   .500 8 9 0   .471
Notre Dame  ‍‍‍ 4 4 0   .500 6 7 0   .462
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 3 4 1   .438 5 7 2   .429
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 3 5 0   .375 11 5 0   .688
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 1 7 0   .125 3 10 1   .250
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 1 7 0   .125 1 7 0   .125
Miami  ‍‍‍ 0 8 0   .000 1 11 1   .115
NC State  ‍‍‍ 0 0 0   5 3 1   .611
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2020 ACC Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of May 18, 2021
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll
Source: The ACC
Note: † Due to COVID-19, NC State suspended the 2020 women's fall soccer season. They did participate in the spring season.


The 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer season was the 32nd season of women's varsity soccer in the conference.

Florida State and North Carolina shared the regular season title. The Seminoles won the 2020 ACC tournament over the Tar Heels, 3–2.[2]

Teams[edit]

Stadiums and locations[edit]

Team Stadium Capacity
Boston College Eagles Newton Soccer Complex 2,500
Clemson Tigers Riggs Field 6,500
Duke Blue Devils Koskinen Stadium 7,000
Florida State Seminoles Seminole Soccer Complex 1,600
Louisville Cardinals Lynn Stadium 5,300
Miami Hurricanes Cobb Stadium 500
North Carolina Tar Heels Dorrance Field 5,025
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Alumni Stadium 2,500
Pittsburgh Panthers Ambrose Urbanic Field 735
Syracuse Orange SU Soccer Stadium 5,000
Virginia Cavaliers Klöckner Stadium 8,000
Virginia Tech Hokies Thompson Field 2,500
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Spry Stadium 3,000

1. ^ Georgia Tech does not sponsor women's soccer
2. ^ NC State decided to opt out of the 2020 season.[3]

Coaches[edit]

Head Coaching Records[edit]

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school ACC record
Boston College Jason Lowe 2 8–8–2 8–8–2 1–8–1
Clemson Eddie Radwanski 10 232–125–35 93–60–22 39–46–8
Duke Robbie Church 20 331–175–66 244–126–55 93–59–31
Florida State Mark Krikorian 16 351–96–33 276–66–30 103–32–25
Louisville Karen Ferguson-Dayes 20 182–161–37 182–161–37 23–27–10
Miami Sarah Barnes 3 71–59–19 11–18–5 5–13–2
North Carolina Anson Dorrance 42 833–68–38 833–68–38 200–26–10
NC State Tim Santoro 8 62–70–14 62–70–14 19–46–8
Notre Dame Nate Norman 3 77–53–16 19–18–2 8–10–2
Pittsburgh Randy Waldrum 3 408–130–33 9–22–4 9–21–2
Syracuse Nicky Adams 2 3–11–2 3–11–2 1–7–1
Virginia Steve Swanson 20 419–157–59 315–94–48 125–44–20
Virginia Tech Charles Adair 10 118–53–20 118–53–20 42–39–13
Wake Forest Tony da Luz 23 308–214–50 263-173-48 87–102–22

Notes

  • Records shown are prior to the 2020 season
  • Years at school includes the 2020 season

Pre-season[edit]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the season[edit]

On September 4, 2020, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced the fall Olympic sports schedule, which included the schedule for women's soccer. The men's soccer season will begin in September, 2020 instead of the originally planned August, and conclude on November 1. The season will culminate with the 2020 ACC Women's Soccer tournament, which will have the usual eight teams, but all games will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.[4]

On January 26, 2021, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that no league matches will be played in the spring. However, teams were permitted to play non-conference matches, that will count toward their overall records. The winner of the 2020 ACC Women's Soccer tournament, Florida State, would receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[5]

Hermann Trophy Watchlist[edit]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a preseason MAC Hermann Trophy watch list was released in January instead of August. Eight players from ACC schools were named to the watchlist.[6]

Player Class Position School
Maycee Bell Sophomore DF North Carolina
Emina Ekic Senior MF Louisville
Jaelin Howell Junior MF Florida State
Rachel Jones Junior FW North Carolina
Sophie Jones Sophomore MF Duke
Brianna Pinto Junior MF North Carolina
Alexa Spaanstra Junior FW Virginia
Yujie Zhao Junior MF Florida State

Pre-season poll[edit]

The 2020 ACC Preseason Poll was announced on September 8, 2020. The defending regular season champions, North Carolina were voted to repeat their regular season crown. Florida State was voted in second place. The leagues 14 head coaches also voted on a preseason All-ACC team.[7] Full results for the coaches poll and preseason team are shown below.

Pre-season Coaches Poll[edit]

Predicted finish Team Points (1st place)
1 North Carolina 129 (8)
2 Florida State 123 (3)
3 Virginia 113 (2)
4 Duke 98
5 Clemson 86
6 Notre Dame 79
7 Louisville 77
8 Virginia Tech 64
9 Wake Forest 50
10 Pittsburgh 42
11 Boston College 35
12 Miami 27
13 Syracuse 13

Source:[7]

Pre-season All-ACC Team[edit]

Position Player Class School
Goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos Senior Louisville
Defender Delaney Graham Junior Duke
Emily Fox Senior North Carolina
Malia Berkely Senior Florida State
Maycee Bell Sophomore North Carolina
Midfielder Jaelin Howell Junior Florida State
Yujie Zhao Junior Florida State
Emina Ekic Senior Louisville
Brianna Pinto Junior North Carolina
Forward Diana Ordoñez Sophomore Virginia
Alexa Spaanstra Junior Virginia

Source:[7]

Regular season[edit]

Conference matrix[edit]

The table below shows head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team plays seven matches. Each team does not play every other team.

  Boston College Clemson Duke Florida State Louisville Miami North Carolina Notre Dame Pittsburgh Syracuse Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest
vs. Boston College 1–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 4–3 1–3 2–1 3–0
vs. Clemson 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 (OT) 0–3 0–3 0–2
vs. Duke 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–3 2–0 0–4 1–1 (2OT) 0–0 (2OT)
vs. Florida State 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–5 1–4 3–4 0–4 0–4
vs. Louisville 0–2 1–0 0–3 3–1 1–0 0–3 2–0 0–1
vs. Miami 3–1 3–0 6–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 8–2 1–0
vs. North Carolina 1–3 0–2 0–2 1–3 0–2 0–2 0–1 1–4
vs. Notre Dame 0–2 2–1 5–0 0–1 0–6 2–0 0–2 1–0
vs. Pittsburgh 3–4 2–1 (OT) 4–1 0–2 0–2 2–1 (OT) 2–0 1–0
vs. Syracuse 3–1 4–0 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 5–3
vs. Virginia 1–2 3–0 1–1 (2OT) 4–3 0–2 0–3 1–2 (OT) 3–5
vs. Virginia Tech 0–3 3–0 4–0 1–0 2–8 1–0 0–2 3–4
vs. Wake Forest 2–0 0–0 (2OT) 4–0 0–1 4–1 0–1 0–1 4–3
Total 1–7–0 5–3–0 4–2–2 8–0–0 4–4–0 0–8–0 8–0–0 4–4–0 3–5–0 1–7–0 5–2–1 4–4–0 3–4–1

Rankings[edit]

Fall 2020[edit]

United Soccer[edit]
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Final
Boston College
Clemson 3 3 6 4 3 3 5 5 7 6
Duke 7 11 7 5 4 5 6 6 5 5
Florida State 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1
Louisville 13 13 13
Miami
North Carolina 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
NC State
Notre Dame 14 14 13 14 12 13 14
Pittsburgh 12 14
Syracuse
Virginia 11 10 10 11 10 10 10 9 9 10
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Spring 2021[edit]

United Soccer[edit]
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  Pre
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Final
Boston College
Clemson 9 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6
Duke 5 5 5 5 7 7 9 8 7
Florida State 1 (28) 1 (31) 1 (33) 1 (30) 1 (31) 1 (33) 1 (32) 1 (28) 2 (1)
Louisville
Miami
North Carolina 2 (1) 2 (2) 2 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 2 2 (2) 3 (1)
NC State
Notre Dame RV RV
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia 8 9 9 10 10 12 12 13 4 (1)
Virginia Tech RV RV
Wake Forest
Top Drawer Soccer[edit]
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Final
Boston College
Clemson 17 17 17 16 12 11 11 11 11 11 9 9 8 8 8
Duke 11 11 11 11 9 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6
Florida State 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Louisville
Miami
North Carolina 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4
NC State
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 3 6 5 5 4 3 3
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Players of the Week[edit]

Fall[edit]

Week Offensive Player of the week Defensive Player of the week Reference
Week 1 – September 15 Marykate McGuire, Duke Kate McKay, Pittsburgh [8]
Week 2 – September 22 Caroline Conti, Clemson Hensley Hancuff, Clemson [9]
Week 3 – September 29 Izzy Brown, North Carolina Maycee Bell, North Carolina [10]
Claire Constant, Virginia
Week 4 – October 6 Emina Ekic, Louisville Alia Skinner, Virginia Tech [11]
Week 5 – October 13 Amanda West, Pittsburgh Caitlin Cosme, Duke [12]
Week 6 – October 20 Clara Robbins, Florida State Kaitlyn Parks, Wake Forest [13]
Alexa Spaanstra, Virginia
Week 7 – October 27 Jenna Bike, Boston College Mattie Interian, Notre Dame [14]
Emily Gray, Virginia Tech
Week 8 – November 3 Tori Powell, Virginia Tech Cristina Roque, Florida State [15]

Spring[edit]

Week Offensive Player of the week Defensive Player of the week Reference
Week 1 – March 3 Caroline Conti, Clemson Talia Staude, Virginia [16]
Week 2 – March 9 Landy Mertz, Pittsburgh Caitlin Cosme, Duke [17]
Week 3 – March 16 Selena Fortich, Miami Melissa Dagenais, Miami [18]
Week 4 – March 23 Maliah Morris, Clemson Kaitlyn Parks, Wake Forest [19]
Week 5 – March 30 Brianna Pinto, North Carolina Kaitlyn Parks (2), Wake Forest [20]
Week 6 – April 6 Amanda West, Pittsburgh Mia Gyau, Duke [21]
Week 7 – April 13 Megan Bornkamp, Clemson Ruthie Jones, Duke [22]
Week 8 – April 20 Toni Starova, NC State Maria Echezarreta, NC State [23]

Postseason[edit]

ACC Tournament[edit]

Semifinals Final
      
1 Florida State 4
5 Duke 0
1 Florida State 3
2 North Carolina 2
2 North Carolina 2
3 Virginia 0

NCAA tournament[edit]

Seed School 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
1 Florida State BYE W 3–0 vs. Milwaukee - (WakeMed Soccer Park) W 3–1 vs. Penn State - (WakeMed Soccer Park) T 0–0 (5–3 PKs) vs. No. 9 Duke - (WakeMed Soccer Park) T 0–0 (3–0 PKs) vs. Virginia - (WakeMed Soccer Park) T 1–1 (1–4 PKs) vs. No. 11 Santa Clara - (WakeMed Soccer Park)
2 North Carolina BYE W 2–0 vs. Denver - (Sportsplex at Matthews) W 1–0 vs. Washington - (WakeMed Soccer Park) W 1–0 vs. No. 7 Texas A&M - (WakeMed Soccer Park) L 1–3 vs. No. 11 Santa Clara - (WakeMed Soccer Park)
9 Duke BYE W 2–1 (2OT) vs. Arizona State - (Johnson Stadium) W 1–0 vs. Ole Miss - (WakeMed Soccer Park) T 0–0 (3–5 PKs) vs. No. 1 Florida State - (WakeMed Soccer Park)
14 Clemson BYE T 1–1 (5–4 PKs) vs. Rutgers - (Eakes Athletics Complex) T 1–1 (6–5 PKs) vs. No. 3 UCLA(WakeMed Soccer Park) L 0–1 vs. No. 11 Santa Clara - (WakeMed Soccer Park)
Virginia W 3–1 vs. SIU Edwardsville(WakeMed Soccer Park) W 2–0 vs. No. 12 BYU(WakeMed Soccer Park) W 3–0 vs. Rice(WakeMed Soccer Park) W 1–0 vs. No. 4 TCU(WakeMed Soccer Park) T 0–0 (0–3 PKs)vs. No. 1 Florida State – (WakeMed Soccer Park)
W–L (%): 1–0–0 (1.000) 4–0–1 (.900) 4–0–1 (.900) 2–1–2 (.600) 0–1–2 (.333) 0–0–1 (.500) Total: 11–2–7 (.725)

Awards and honors[edit]

ACC Awards[edit]

2020 ACC Women's Soccer Individual Awards[24]
Award Recipient(s)
Offensive Player of the Year Emina EkicLouisville
Coach of the Year Mark KrikorianFlorida State
Defensive Player of the Year Malia BerkelyFlorida State
Midfielder of the Year Jaelin HowellFlorida State
Freshman of the Year Lia Godfrey – Virginia
2020 ACC Women's Soccer All-Conference Teams[24]
First Team Second Team Third Team All-Freshman Team

Sophie Jones, So., M, Duke
Malia Berkely, Sr., D, Florida State
Jaelin Howell, Jr., M, Florida State
Yujie Zhao, Jr., M, Florida State
Emina Ekic, Sr., M, Louisville
Maycee Bell, So., D, North Carolina
Claudia Dickey, Jr., GK, North Carolina
Emily Fox, Sr., D, North Carolina
Rachel Jones, Jr., F, North Carolina
Brianna Pinto, Jr., M, North Carolina
Alexa Spaanstra, Jr., F, Virginia

Makenna Morris, Fr., D, Clemson
Mariana Speckmaier, Sr., F, Clemson
Emily Madril, Jr., D, Florida State
Clara Robbins, Jr., M, Florida State
Cristina Roque, Fr., GK, Florida State
Taylor Otto, Sr., M, North Carolina
Sammi Fisher, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Amanda West, So., F, Pittsburgh
Lia Godfrey, Fr., M, Virginia
Rebecca Jarrett, Jr., F, Virginia
Diana Ordoñez, So., F, Virginia

Megan Bornkamp, Fr., D, Clemson
Hal Hershfelt, So., M, Clemson
Courtney Jones, Jr., M, Clemson
Delaney Graham, Jr., D, Duke
Taylor Mitchell, Sr., D, Duke
Jenna Nighswonger, So., M, Florida State
Gabby Kouzelos, Sr., GK, Louisville
Sam Meza, Fr., M, North Carolina
Kiki Van Zanten, So., F, Notre Dame
Emily Gray, Jr., M, Virginia Tech
Hannah Betfort, Sr., D, Wake Forest

Megan Bornkamp, D, Clemson
Makenna Morris, D, Clemson
Jody Brown, F, Florida State
Cristina Roque, GK, Florida State
Kaitlyn Zipay, F, Florida State
Talia Dellaperuta, F, North Carolina
Sam Meza, M, North Carolina
Lia Godfrey, M, Virginia
Samar Guidry, D, Virginia
Tori Powell, F, Virginia Tech
Sophie Faircloth, D, Wake Forest

2021 NWSL Draft[edit]

FW Forward MF Midfielder DF Defender GK Goalkeeper
Player Team Round Pick # Position School
Emily Fox Racing Louisville 1 1 D North Carolina
Brianna Pinto Sky Blue 1 3 M North Carolina
Emina Ekic Racing Louisville 1 5 M Louisville
Taylor Otto Racing Louisville 2 11 M North Carolina
Taryn Torres Sky Blue FC 3 23 M Virginia
Alissa Gorzak Chicago Red Stars 4 35 F Virginia
Mariana Speckmaier Washington Spirit 4 39 F Clemson
Tess Boade Sky Blue FC 4 40 F Duke

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2020 Women's Soccer Overall Statistics". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  2. ^ "Florida State Defeats North Carolina 3-2 to Win ACC Women's Soccer Championship". theacc.com. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  3. ^ "Tim Santoro Discusses Decision To Opt Out Of 2020 Season". gopack.com. North Carolina State Wolfpack Athletics. August 31, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "ACC Announces Fall Olympic Sports Schedules". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "Atlantic Coast Conference Announces Spring Olympic Sports Schedules". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 26, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists Announced". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "North Carolina Picked to Repeat as ACC Women's Soccer Champion". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "Duke's McGuire, Pitt's McKay Earn ACC Player of the Week Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Clemson Sweeps ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "North Carolina, Virginia Earn Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  11. ^ "Louisville's Ekic, Virginia Tech's Skinner Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  12. ^ "Duke's Cosme, Pitt's West Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "Florida State, Virginia and Wake Forest Earn Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "Boston College, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech Earn ACC Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "Florida State's Roque, Virginia Tech's Powell Earn ACC Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "Clemson's Conti, Virginia's Staude Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pitt's Mertz, Duke's Cosme Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "Miami Sweeps ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  19. ^ "Clemson's Morris, Wake Forest's Parks Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  20. ^ "North Carolina's Pinto, Wake Forest's Parks Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  21. ^ "Pitt's West, Duke's Gyau Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "Clemson's Bornkamp, Duke's Jones Earn ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  23. ^ "NC State Sweeps Final ACC Women's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  24. ^ a b "2020 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.