2021 Big Ten Conference men's soccer season
The 2021 Big Ten Conference men's soccer season is the 31st season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season began in August 2021 and concluded in November 2021.
| 2021 Big Ten Conference men's soccer season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Soccer |
| Duration | August 26, 2021 – October 31, 2021 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| 2022 MLS SuperDraft | |
| Regular Season | |
| Tournament | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Penn State ‡ | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Maryland + | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Indiana + | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 15 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 7 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 6 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 7 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 8 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 8 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 9 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Source: Big Ten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The season will culminate with the 2021 Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament to determine the conference's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.
Background
Previous season
The previous season was the 30th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Big Ten regular season was postponed and began on February 3, 2021 and concluded on April 17, 2021. The season culminated with the 2020 Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament to determine the conference's automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Indiana defeated Penn State in the Big Ten Men's Soccer Championship Game.
With the Big Ten title, Indiana earned the conference's automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Tournament, where Maryland, and Penn State joined as at-large berths. Maryland was eliminated in the Second Round, while Penn State were eliminated in the Third Round, and Indiana lost in the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game.
Head coaches
- As of the 2021 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school[1] | Big Ten record[1] | NCAA Tournaments[2] |
NCAA College Cups[2] |
NCAA Titles[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | Todd Yeagley | Wisconsin | 10 | 129–54–36 (.671)[3] | 122–45–34 (.692)[3] | 35–15–18 (.647)[3] | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Maryland | Sasho Cirovski | Hartford | 27 | 412–156–60 (.704)[4] | 386–143–53 (.709)[4] | 24–9–7 (.688)[4] | 25 | 9 | 3 |
| Michigan | Chaka Daley | Providence | 8 | 151–165–48 (.481)[5][6] | 61–54–21 (.526)[5][6] | 23–20–9 (.529)[5][6] | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan State | Damon Rensing | Michigan State (asst.) | 11 | 117–66–30 (.620)[7] | 117–66–30 (.620)[7] | 31–26–13 (.536)[7] | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Northwestern | Tim Lenahan | Lafayette | 19 | 305–209–72 (.582) | 169–140–51 (.540) | 36–60–20 (.397) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | Brian Maisonneuve | Indiana (asst.) | 3 | 1–15–2 (.111) | 1–15–2 (.111) | 0–7–1 (.063) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Penn State | Jeff Cook | Bethlehem Steel (asst.) | 3 | 127–104–36 (.543) | 6–9–2 (.412) | 3–3–2 (.500) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Rutgers | Jim McElderry | Fordham | 2 | 127–125–37 (.503) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | John Trask | UIC | 11 | 129–96–55 (.559) | 75–72–29 (.509) | 26–28–10 (.484) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Preseason
Preseason poll
The preseason poll was released on August 23, 2021. Indiana was selected unanimously as the favorite to win the Big Ten.[8]
| Team Ranking | |
|---|---|
| 1. | Indiana |
| 2. | Penn State |
| 3. | Michigan |
| 4. | Maryland |
| 5. | Michigan State |
| 6. | Rutgers |
| 7. | Ohio State |
| 8. | Northwestern |
| 9. | Wisconsin |
Preseason national polls
The preseason national polls were released in August 2021.
| United Soccer[9] |
CSN | Top Drawer Soccer | |
| Indiana | 2 | 2 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | — | 28 | — |
| Michigan | — | — | — |
| Michigan State | — | — | — |
| Northwestern | — | — | — |
| Ohio State | — | — | — |
| Penn State | 11 | 12 | 10 |
| Rutgers | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | — | — | — |
Postseason
Big Ten Tournament
The Big Ten Tournament was held from November 7–14, 2021.
| Quarterfinals November 7[10] | Semifinals November 10 | Championship November 14 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Penn State | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Michigan State | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Penn State | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Wisconsin | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Penn State | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Indiana | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Indiana | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Rutgers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Indiana (a.e.t.) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Northwestern | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Maryland | 0 (2) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Northwestern (pen.) | 0 (3) | ||||||||||||
References
- "Big Ten Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Big Ten Conference. bigten.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. ncaa.org. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- "Todd Yeagley". iuhoosiers.com. Indiana University. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- "Sasho Cirovski". umterps.com. University of Maryland. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- "Michigan Men's Soccer Year-by-Year Results". mgoblue. Board of Regents of the University of Michigan. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- "2018 Men's Soccer Record Book". issuu.com. Issuu Inc. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- "Damon Rensing". msuspartans.com. Michigan State Spartans Athletics. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- "Indiana Tops 2021 Big Ten Men's Soccer Preseason Poll". bigten.org. August 23, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- "United Soccer Coaches Releases Pre-Season Rankings for NCAA and Junior College, Sponsored by Verizon". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. August 4, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- "2021 Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament Bracket Announced". BigTen.org. October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.