The Georgia Southern Eagles men's soccer program represents Georgia Southern University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1980, the Eagles currently compete in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).[2] They played briefly as members of the Mid-American Conference. However, following a major conference realignment in 2021 brought several new men's soccer schools to the SBC including the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 Conference playing members, the league announced it would reinstate men's soccer no later than 2023.[3] The reinstatement of SBC men's soccer was ultimately pushed forward to 2022.[4]
The Eagles are coached by LEE SQUIRES. Georgia Southern plays their home matches at Eagle Field.
History
Georgia Southern University's varsity men's soccer program was introduced by then-athletic director George A. Cook on May 7, 1980.[5] The same day, the soccer program's first head coach, Pat Cobb, was also introduced as the head coach. They began play in the league now known as the ASUN Conference.
Seasons
| National Champions † | Conference Champions * | Division Champions ‡ | NCAA Tournament berth ^ |
| Season | Head coach | Conference | Season results | Tournament results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | Conference | NCAA[6] | ||||||||
| W | L | T | W | L | T | Finish | |||||
| 1980 | Patt Cobb | TAAC[7][8] | 10 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Runners-up | — |
| 1981 | 8 | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Third place | — | ||
| 1982 | 4 | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1983 | Ray Wells | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | |
| 1984 | 6 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 1985 | John Rafter | 3 | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | |
| 1986 | 12 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1987 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1988 | 10 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 1989 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3rd of 4, East | — | — | ||
| 1990‡ | Tom Norton | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1st of 4, East | Runners-up | — | |
| 1991 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6th of 7 | — | — | ||
| 1992 | SoCon[9] | 8 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3rd of 7 | Quarterfinals | — | |
| 1993 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3rd of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1994 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4th of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1995 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5th of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1996 | Kevin Chambers | 10 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3rd of 7 | Runners-up | — | |
| 1997 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4th of 8 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1998 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 1999 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2000 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2001 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7th of 9 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2002 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2003 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2004 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2005 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2006 | Kevin Kennedy | 10 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2nd of 8 | Runners-up | — | |
| 2007 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2008 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4th of 8 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2009 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8th of 8 | — | — | ||
| 2010 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 8th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2011 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2012 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4th of 8 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2013 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5th of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2014 | Sun Belt[10] | 8 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2nd of 6 | Runners-up | — | |
| 2015 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3rd of 6 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2016* | John Murphy | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1st of 6* | Semifinals | — | |
| 2017 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3rd of 6 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2018 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2nd of 5 | Runners-up | — | ||
| 2019 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5th of 6 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2020 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4th of 4 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2021 | MAC | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7th of 7 | — | — | |
| 2022 | Sun Belt | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9th of 9 | — | — | |
Head coaches
There have been seven men's soccer coaches in the program's history.[11]
| No. | Coach | Seasons | Years | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Cobb | 3 | 1980–1982 | 52 | 22–28–3 (.443) |
| 2 | Ray Wells | 2 | 1983–1984 | 25 | 11–13–1 (.460) |
| 3 | John Rafter | 5 | 1985–1989 | 85 | 47–32–6 (.588) |
| 4 | Tom Norton | 6 | 1990–1995 | 123 | 52–57–14 (.480) |
| 5 | Kevin Chambers | 10 | 1996–2005 | 194 | 71–105–18 (.412) |
| 6 | Kevin Kennedy | 10 | 2006–2015 | 176 | 65–99–12 (.403) |
| 7 | John Murphy | 4 | 2016–2022 | 82 | 32–41–9 (.445) |
Rivalries
Mercer
Mercer leads the series 25–24–0 through the 2018 season.[12]
Georgia State
Georgia State leads the series 30–11–6 through the 2020–21 season.[13][12]
References
- ^ Georgia Southern Visual Identity Guide (PDF). April 19, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ "Georgia Southern, Georgia State Added As Affiliate Members in Men's Soccer" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Traylor, Grant (November 1, 2021). "Sun Belt confirms men's soccer being reinstated". The Herald-Dispatch. Huntington, WV. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ "Sun Belt Conference Announces Return of Men's Soccer This Fall" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "2017 Men's Soccer media Guide" (PDF). August 29, 2017.
- ^ "Men's Division I Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ "ASUN Men's Soccer Championship Results". Atlantic Sun Conference. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ "ASUN Men's Soccer Year-By-Year Standings". Atlantic Sun Conference. September 28, 2019.
- ^ "Southern Conference Men's Soccer Record Book - Through 2018 season" (PDF). Southern Conference. August 23, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Sun Belt Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ "All-Time Coaching History - GA Southern Eagles Men's Soccer Media Guide" (PDF). gseagles.com. September 6, 2019. p. 60. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ a b "Georgia Southern Men's Soccer Media Guide" (PDF). gseagles.com. Georgia Southern University Athletics. August 24, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "Georgia State Men's Soccer History and Record Book" (PDF). Georgia State Panthers. January 25, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
