The 2022 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 64th season of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

championship men's

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

. The season began in August 2022 and concluded in November. It culminated with the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, with the Men's College Cup held at

WakeMed Soccer Park WakeMed Soccer Park is a major soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, soccer-specific main stadium called Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, two lighted practice fields, and four additional ...

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

won the NCAA Championship by defeating

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

7-6 on penalty kicks following a 2-2-draw.

Changes from 2021

Rule changes

In April 2022, during a meeting among the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP), several major rule changes were enacted. This included overtime, expansion of

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee. The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video ope ...

(VAR), and the appeals process of a suspension. Specifically

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

was abolished during the regular season. Matches that ended in a draw during a conference or national tournament match would go to extra time, consisting of two 10-minute periods without a

golden goal The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sudd ...

. A playoff game tied after two overtime periods would still move to a penalty kick shoot-out with the winner determined by the teams alternating kicks from the penalty mark. Additionally PROP approved VAR to be used for fouls that occurred outside of the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...

, as well as allowing a 48-hour period to appeal a red card decision.

Coaching changes

A total of 24 coaching changes took place during the 2021–22 offseason. One head coach announced his retirement after the 2021 season, but backed out of his retirement plan and was rehired by his program.

New programs

Two members of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced in February 2022 that they would reclassify to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

as new members of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cha ...

(OVC) effective that July. The first to announce was the

University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...

on February 9.

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...

followed suit on February 23. With the OVC sponsoring soccer only for women, both schools entered into negotiations with the

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...

, whose men's soccer league included established OVC member

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

. The Summit accepted both Lindenwood and Southern Indiana as associate members on May 11. On May 22, 2022, the

ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisi ...

announced that

Queens University of Charlotte The Queens University of Charlotte is a private university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students through the College of Arts and Sciences, the McColl School of Business, the Wayland H. Cato, ...

, then a member of the

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...

, would begin its own transition to Division I and become the newest ASUN member. On April 5, 2022,

Stonehill College Stonehill College is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Easton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29 buildings that co ...

announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Fo ...

and would begin the transition to Division I.

Discontinued programs

While no schools dropped men's soccer prior to the 2022 fall season, one conference discontinued its men's soccer league.

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

had nine men's soccer members in 2021, and had planned to add another such member for 2022, but lost all of them by the end of the 2021–22 school year. First, in April 2022, it was announced that five of its members ( Coastal Carolina,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, Marshall, Old Dominion, and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

) would join the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams partici ...

for the fall 2022 season, as would

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

, which had previously announced a planned move of men's soccer from the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...

to C-USA. One month later, the remaining four members (

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

Florida Atlantic Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-cam ...

, and UAB) announced they would join the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA ...

effective fall 2022. Of these last four schools, all but FIU are scheduled to fully join The American in 2023. The

Hartford Hawks The Hartford Hawks are the NCAA Division I athletic teams of the University of Hartford, located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's tennis teams were ...

will transition to

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

. However, they continue to honor athletic scholarships previously awarded, and departed the

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research ...

to become a Division I independent for the 2022 season. The Hawks will join the D-III Commonwealth Coast Conference in 2023.

Conference realignment

Twenty-seven schools joined new conferences or became independents, including four schools from Division II which started transitions to Division I this season and one that started a transition from Division I to Division III in the 2021 season. Incarnate Word (UIW) was an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for men's soccer in 2021. They had announced their intent to move their primary conference affiliation from the Southland Conference to the WAC, but on June 24, 2022 announced a reversal of course to retain the Southland Conference as their primary conference. There was no formal announcement that they would discontinue their affiliation with the WAC for men's soccer; however, they were removed from the WAC soccer schedule, and played an independent schedule in the 2022 season.

Other headlines

* November 10, 2021 --The Utah legislature approved the rebranding of Dixie State University to

Utah Tech University Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is a public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers about 240 programs (4 master's degrees, 53 bachelor's degrees, 18 associate degrees, 4 ...

. The name change occurred in May 2022, with the change taking legal effect on July 1, 2022. The athletic nickname of Trailblazers was not affected. * August 12 – The

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

and

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

systems announced that Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis will be dissolved in 2024 and replaced by separate IU- and Purdue-affiliated institutions. The current athletic program, the IUPUI Jaguars, will transfer to the new IU Indianapolis. * August 31 – The Division I Board of Directors adopted a series of changes to transfer rules. ** Transfer windows were adopted for all Division I sports. Student-athletes who wish to be immediately eligible at their next school must enter the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool launched on October 15, 2018, to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member ...

within the designated period(s) for their sport. For men's soccer, two windows were established—a 45-day winter window starting the day after the NCAA tournament selections are announced, and a spring window from May 1–15. ** Student-athletes who experience head coaching changes, or those whose athletic aid is reduced, canceled, or not renewed, may transfer outside designated windows without penalty. ** Transferring student-athletes will be guaranteed their financial aid at their next school through graduation. * September 21 – Houston Baptist University announced it had changed its name to Houston Christian University, effective immediately. The athletic nickname of Huskies was not affected. * November 11 – The

(MAC) announced that it would no longer sponsor men's soccer after the 2022 season, citing its recent reductions in membership in that sport. Three of the four full MAC members that sponsor men's soccer—

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

, and Western Michigan—announced that day that they would become single-sport members of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern United ...

effective in 2023. * November 16 – The

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

announced that

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...

, the last full MAC member that had yet to announce a men's soccer affiliation beyond 2022, would join Big East men's soccer effective with the 2023 season. At that time, the Big East, whose 11 full members all sponsor men's soccer, will split into divisions for that sport.

Season outlook

Preseason polls

United Soccer Coaches released their preseason poll on August 2, 2022. College Soccer News released their preseason poll on August 18, 2022. TopDrawer Soccer released their rankings on August 19, 2022.

Regular season

Major upsets

In this list, a "major upset" is defined as a game won by an unranked team that defeats a ranked team, or a team ranked 10 spots lower than the other team. All rankings are from the

United Soccer Coaches The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 3 ...

Poll.

Conference standings

Early season tournaments

Several universities hosted early season soccer tournaments.

Postseason

Conference winners and tournaments

Player statistics

Goals

Assists

Points

. ''Two points per a goal, and one point per an assist.''

Hat tricks

Awards and honors

TopDrawerSoccer.com Player/Team of the Week

*Bold denotes TDS Player of the Week.

All-America teams

Major player of the year awards

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

: * TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year Award: Duncan McGuire, Creighton

Other major awards

* United Soccer Coaches College Coach of the Year:

Ian McIntyre Ian McIntyre (9 December 1931 – 19 April 2014) was a British BBC Radio producer, journalist, broadcaster and author. who was Controller of BBC Radio 4 from 1976 to 1978 and then Controller of BBC Radio 3 between 1978 and 1987. After joini ...

* Bill Jeffrey Award: * Jerry Yeagley Award: Kristin Acquavella *

Mike Berticelli Award The Mike Berticelli Excellence in Coaching Education Award or the Mike Berticelli Award is a national recognition given by United Soccer Coaches to present to an individual in the USC Academy staff who was provided "positive contributions to the gam ...

: Felicity Day * NCAA Tournament MVP:Offensive: Nathan Opoku Defensive: Russell Shealy

Conference player and coaches of the year

References

{{2022 in American soccer