CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Results of the 2020 (Spring 2021) American Rivers Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Poll (as voted on by the league's head coaches):
| 2020 (Spring 2021) American Rivers Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School (1st place votes) |
Points |
2019 Record |
| 1. |
Luther (6) |
61 |
17-5-3, 5-3 A-R-C (A-R-C AQ Tournament Champion) |
| 2. |
Loras (1) |
49 |
15-6-1, 6-2 A-R-C |
| 3. |
Simpson (1) |
47 |
16-4-2, 5-2-1 A-R-C |
| 4. |
Central |
46 |
14-4-2, 6-1-1 A-R-C (Conference Champions) |
| 5. |
Dubuque (1) |
39 |
10-6-2, 5-2-1 A-R-C |
| 6. |
Wartburg |
36 |
8-8-2, 4-4 A-R-C |
| 7. |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
22 |
7-8-3, 1-6-1 A-R-C |
| 8. |
Coe |
13 |
7-11, 2-6 A-R-C |
| 9. |
Buena Vista |
11 |
1-14-3, 0-8 A-R-C |
Luther Men's Soccer, who have claimed the conference's AQ tournament title in back-to-back seasons-advancing to the sectional final both times, are the coaches' choice to win the 2020 (Spring of 2021) American Rivers Conference Championship. The Norse were chosen first on six ballots (coaches do not vote on their own team) and earned 61 points. 2019 A-R-C conference runner-up, Loras, earned the No.2 ranking. The Duhawks garnered 49 points and one first-place vote.
Simpson and Central were picked to finish third and fourth, earning 47 and 46 points, respectively. The Simpson Storm also collected one first-place vote. University of Dubuque earned 39 points and one first-place nod to finish fifth in this year's poll. Wartburg followed in sixth with 36 points. Nebraska Wesleyan 22 points), Coe (13 points), and Buena Vista (11 points) finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.
United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll/D3soccer.com: Due to the spring-to-fall format, United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com have not released a poll at this time. To end the 2019 season, the Norse who reached the Elite Eight, checked in at No. 5 and No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer polls, respectively.
New Coaches:
Kyle Bakas, Coe College. Bakas, who came to Coe in 2019 as an assistant, will lead the Kohawks entering the 2020 season this spring. Prior to his role at Coe, Bakas Montana where he served as the executive director/director of coaches for Billings United. He also brings experience from the college level, serving as the assistant men's and women's soccer coach at Lake Superior College, a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
Steven McCarthy, Loras College. McCarthy comes to Loras after spending the last eight years as the associate head coach at Denison University in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The former Capital University standout was a two-time All-American and helped his squad to two Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) titles and one NCAA Division III tournament appearance. McCarthy earned his bachelor's degree in management and leadership from Capital and holds a master's degree in recreation and sports sciences with a concentration in soccer coaching.
The Schedule: Due to NCAA Board of Governors announcement on August 11, 2020, which put new mandates in its “Resocialization of Collegiate Sport” plan, the American Rivers Conference Presidents Council postponed four sports from the fall to the spring semester. Those sports are football, women’s and men’s soccer, and volleyball.
A full conference round-robin is planned in men's soccer, with member institutions having discretion around non-conference competition. Due to the NCAA's cancellation of fall championships and no spring make-up, there will be no Conference Automatic Qualifier Tournament this year.
The eight-game round robin A-R-C schedule begins this weekend, Saturday, March 27, with four matches. Loras will host Nebraska Wesleyan for the opening of league play with a 1:00 p.m. kick. Wartburg will travel to Storm Lake for a match-up with Buena Vista for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff. The final two matches are set to begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday when Coe travels to Pella to battle Central and Dubuque heads west to Indianola to square off with Simpson.
The Luther Norse have a first weekend bye and will begin their season on Tuesday, March 30 when they hit the road for Dubuque to face the Duhawks of Loras College.
| 1st |
|
Luther College
Head Coach: Chris Garcia-Prats (13th season, 154-71-26)
2019 Record: 117-5-3, 5-3 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 5th (Conference AQ Tournament Champion)
2019 NCAA Tournament: First Round - Defeated Principia 5-1; Second Round - Defeated UW-Superior T 1-1 2OT - Luther Advanced by shootout 4-1; Sweet 16 - Defeated Ohio Wesleyan T 0-0 2OT - Luther Advanced by shootout 7-6; Elite 8 - Lost to Calvin 3-0
Returning All-Conference: Marc-Arthur Shapiro (2019 First-Team, MF, Sr.), Marcos Vila (2019 First-Team, FWD, Jr.), Will Overberg (2019 First Team, FWD, So.)
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 6
Chris Garcia-Prats - “So excited and grateful to be competing again!! We have had a tremendous Fall & Winter and have adapted to the constant changes of this academic year. If history repeats itself, we will see a league title go down to the wire in an extremely competitive league.” |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Carson Davenport - GK. (Sr.) |
19-games started // 18-GA // 0.97-GAA // 48-saves // .727-save% // 8-3 record |
| Steven Johnson - D (Sr.) |
22-games started // 3-assists |
| Will Overberg - F (So.) |
20-games started // 6-goals // 6-assists // 1-game winner |
| Marc-Arthur Shapiro - MF (Sr.) |
20-games played // 4-goals // 5-assists // 1-game winner |
| Marcos Vila - F (Jr.) |
23-games played // 13-goals // 7-assists // .672-SOG% // 1-game winner |
| 2nd |
|
Loras College
Head Coach: Steven McCarthy (1st Season)
2019 Record: 15-6-1, 6-2 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 2nd
Returning All-Conference: Tigrio Huerta (2019 Offensive MVP)
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 8
Steven McCarthy - “After a year filled with adversity, struggle and setbacks our team is ready to get on the field and compete! We are excited to challenge for the conference title!" |
| Players to Watch:*Returning Players Only |
|
| Tigrio Huerta - F (Sr.) |
22-games played // 13-goals // 9-assists // .576-SOG% // 3-game winners |
| Jose Melo - D (Jr.) |
22-games played // 1-goal |
| Kevin Kucaba - MF (Jr.) |
22-games played // 3-goals // 2-assists // .647-SOG% |
| Michael Brandt - D (So.) |
19-games played // 4 points |
| 3rd |
|
Simpson College
Head Coach: Rick Isaacson (10th season, 108-64-14)
2019 Record: 16-4-2 overall, 5-2-1 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 3rd
Returning All-Conference: Baraka Ellie (2019 All-Conference, MF, Jr.), Enrique Idehen (2019 Honorable Mention, F, Sr.)
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 6
Rick Isaacson - “Buckle up. It's going to be an interesting spring." |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Enrique Idehen - F (Sr.) |
22-games played // 10-goals // 2-assists // .585-SOG% // 3-game winners |
| Baraka Ellie - MF (Jr.) |
20-games started // 7-assists |
| Jordy Triana-Vasquez - MF (Jr.) |
22-games played // 5-goals // 5-assists // 3-game winners |
| Ricardo Ibarra - D (Jr.) |
22-games started // 4-assists |
| Alan Imamovic - D (So.) |
22-games played // 2-goals // 1-game winner |
| 4th |
|
Central College
Head Coach: Garry Laidlaw (22 seasons, 212-178-20)
2019 Record: 14-4-2, 6-1-1 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 1st, Conference Champions
2019 NCAA Tournament: Lost NCAA First Round - UW-Superior (3-2)
Returning All-Conference: Nathan Casas (2019 Honorable Mention, F, Jr.), Jake Dzarnowski (2019 Honorable Mention, MF, Jr.), Brant Mueller (2019 Honorable Mention, D, Jr.), Matthew West (2019 Honorable Mention, F, So.)
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 5
Garry Laidlaw - “So much time has passed and so much has changed since the last time we played. We will simply be grateful to be able to get some games in this spring and we very much look forward to the opportunity to do so." |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Nathan Casas - F (Jr.) |
20-games started // 4-goals // 4-assists // 2-game winners |
| Jake Dzarnowski - MF (Jr.) |
19-games started // 3-goals // 4-assists // 1-game winner |
| Brant Mueller - D (Jr.) |
20-games started // 2-goals // 2-assists // 1-game winner |
| Matthew West - F (So.) |
20-games started // 9-goals // 1-assist // 2-game winners |
| 5th |
|
University of Dubuque
Head Coach: Brad Johnson (12th season, 44-10-6)
2019 Record: 10-6-2 overall, 5-2-1 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: t-3rd
Returning All-Conference: Gloire Luwara (2019 All-Conference, F, Jr.), Brandon White (2019 All-Conference, GK, Sr.), Lucas Von Braun (2019 Honorable Mention, D, So.), Joshua Merkel (2019 Honorable Mention, D, Sr.)
Starters Returning: 8
Starters Lost: 3
Brad Johnson - "There are high expectations for the UD men's Soccer program entering the 2020 season. The Spartans will look to an experienced class of returners and an eager class of newcomers to continue our successful ways. The A-R-C will once again be very competitive and we are excited to get started." |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Gloire Luwara - F (Jr.) |
17-games started // 9-goals // 4-game winners |
| Brandon White – GK (Sr.) |
18-games played // 21-GA // 1.12-GAA // 75-saves // .781-save% // 10-6-2 record |
| Lucas Von Braun - D (So.) |
18-games started // 2-assists |
| Joshua Merkel - D (SR.) |
18-games started // 3-goals // 2-assists // .846-SOG% |
| 6th |
|
Wartburg College
Head Coach: Mike Madigan (4th season, 25-20-10)
2019 Record: 8-8-2, 4-4 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 6th
Returning All-Conference: Kevin Duque (2019 Honorable Mention, F/MF, Jr.)
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 5
Mike Madigan - “We're incredibly excited to have an American Rivers Conference season this spring. It's a great opportunity after the hard work and resilience our guys have displayed this past year." |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Kevin Duque - F/MF (Jr.) |
17-games started // 5-goals // 3-assists // .625-SOG% // 4-game winners |
| Jack Palen - F (Sr.) |
no stats |
| Sam Thomann - D (Sr.) |
no stats |
| 7th |
|
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Head Coach: Brandon Bonilla (3rd season, 15-16-4)
2019 Record: 7-8-3 overall, 1-6-1 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 8th
Returning All-Conference: Luke Monson (2019 Honorable Mention, MF, So.)
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 6
Brandon Bonilla - “Excited to be back on the field to play outside competition for the first time in 515 days, but who's counting!" |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Luke Monson - MF (So.) |
18-games started // 1-assist // |
| Zach Selph - GK (So.) |
13-games played |
| Logan Lawrence - D (Jr.) |
12-games started // 2-goals // 2-assists // .533-SOG% // 1-game winner |
| Jackson McGowan - D (Jr.) |
11-games started // 2-goals // 1-assist |
| 8th |
|
Coe College
Head Coach: Kyle Bakas (1st season)
2019 Record: 7-11, 2-6 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 7th
Returning All-Conference: None
Starters Returning: 6
Starters Lost: 4
Kyle Bakas - “We are pumped to be able to play some games. We weren't sure that this opportunity would arrive with respect to the pandemic and are very excited to be able to compete against other opponents." |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Matthew Joseph - MF (Jr.) |
10-games played // 1-goal // 1-assist // 1-1 PK |
| Connor Fitch - F (So.) |
14-games started // 7-goals // 1-assist // 2-game winners |
| Blake Jungman - D (So.) |
15-games started // .750-SOG% |
| Noah Decker - D (So.) |
16-games started // 1-goal // 1-game winner |
| 9th |
|
Buena Vista University
Head Coach: Ross Minick (2nd season, 1-14-3)
2019 Record: 1-14-3 overall, 0-9 A-R-C
2019 Conference Finish: 9th
Returning All-Conference: None
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 8
Ross Minick - “We are a very young team and are using this shortened season to get experience and make adjustments for the fall. This spring is all about growth for us." |
| Players to Watch: *Returning Players Only |
|
| Noah Becker - MF (Sr.) |
15-games played // 1-goal |
| Troy Finnegan - D (Sr.) |
16-games started // 1-assist |
| Brayden Bergum - D (So.) |
17-games started // 1449 minutes |
| Braedan Evans - F (So.) |
11-games started // 1-goal |
