The 2018 U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program was the inaugural edition of the U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program, a spring season competition run by the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

in which American

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

teams use

IFAB The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay o ...

rules instead of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules. The season began on March 7, 2018, and ran until April 21, 2018. The last round of matches were hosted by

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. Six universities participated in the program: Clemson,

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, Georgetown,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and Wake Forest. Of these six programs, five are from the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

, and all are located in the

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regions.

Background

Rule differences

There were some notable rule difference between the two competitions: * In NCAA soccer, matches use a countdown clock with stoppages in the clock if there is an extended stop of play. In the Spring College Program, an upward counting clock is employed, and the referee determines stoppage time. * In NCAA soccer, there are unlimited substitutions and a match day roster up to 30 players. In the first half of a match, if a player is subbed off, they cannot return until the second half. In the second half, there are unlimited substitutions. In the Spring College Program, match day rosters cannot have more than 18 players, and there are a maximum of three substitutions the whole match. Players who are subbed off cannot return. * In NCAA soccer, if the match is tied at the end of regulation, two-10 minute

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

overtime periods are employed. If the match is still tied at the end of regulation, the match stands as a draw in regular season matches. In the Spring College Program, the draw stands at the end of regulation. * In NCAA soccer, there can be up to three matches in a calendar week. In the Spring College Program, there is only one match per week.

Participating teams

Table

References

{{2018 in American soccer U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program seasons U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program

Background

Rule differences

Participating teams

Table

See also

References